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37th Coxgrkss, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Ex. Dec. 
2d Session. / j \ No. 100. 



[\k. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



CZ" 



MESSAGE 

PRESIDENT OE THE UIITED STATES, 




IN ANSWER 



To resolution of the House of the 3d of March last, transmitting report from the 
Departvient of State regarding the present condition of Mexico. 



ApRir, 15, 1862. — Keferred to tlie Committee on Foreiga Affairs, and ordered to be printed. 

April 21, 1862. — Resolved, That ten thousand extra copies of the President's Message of the 
lith instant, in regard to the present condition of Mexico, be printed for the use of the 
members of this House, and one thousand extra copies for the use of the State Department. 



To the House of Representatives : 

lu compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3cl 
ultimo, rec|uesting information in regard to the present condition of Mexico, I 
transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents hy which it 
was accompanied. 



ABRAHA3I LINCOLN. 



Washington, April 14, 1862. 



Department of State, 

Washington, April 14, 1862. 

The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the resolution of the House of 
Representatives of the 3d ultimo, requesting the President, " if not inconsistent 
with the public interest, to communicate to this house any correspondence or 
other information in his possession relative to the present condition of Mexico, 
and especially in relation to the alleged design of the allied powers now inva- 
ding that coimtry to establish a monarchy there," has the honor to lay before 
the President the papers containing the information desired as specified in the 
subjoined list. 

Respectfully submitted. 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

The President. 



3189 
LIST OF DOCUMENTS 



KELATINC TO 



MEXICAN AFF AIRS, 



ACCOMPAHYIKQ THE 



President's message in reply to tJie resolution of the House of Representatives 

of March 3, 1862. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin April 6, 1861 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward May 29, 1861. 

Same to same June 29, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin June 3, 1861. 

Same to same June .24, 1861. 

Same to same J^ilj 30, 1861. 

]Mi'. Corwin to Mr. Seward June 29, 1861. 

Same to same July 29, 1861. 

Mr. La Ecintrie to ministers of foreign powers in Mexico. -December 20, 1860. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin August 24, 1861. 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward August 28, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin - September 2, 1861. 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward September 7, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Coi-win, (with one enclosure,) September 23, 1861. 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward, (witb tbree enclosures,) September 29, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin October 2, 1861. 

Same to same October 21, 1861. 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward October 29, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin November 11, 1861. 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward November 29, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin December 5, 1861. 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward December 24, 1861. 

Same to same, (with six enclosm-es,) December 24, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to llv. Corwin January 24, 1862. 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward January 12, 1862. 



1.-5 ^^' 



LIST OF DOCUMENTS 3 

Same to same January 26, 1862. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. CorAvdn February 15, 1862. 

Same to same, (with one enclosure,) February 28, 1862. 

Mr. Oorwin to Mr. Seward February 18, 1862. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin April 3, 1862. - 

Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward, (witb twenty-eight enclosures,). . September 21. 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Romero September 24, 1861. * 

Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward, (with twelve enclosures,) September 30, 1861. - 

Same to same, (^rith one enclosui-e,) October 30, 1861. 

Same to same, (with one enclosure,) November 23, 1861, 

Same to same, (with seven enclosures,) November 28, 1861.. 

Same to same, (with two enclosures,) December 21, 1861. 

Same to same, (with nine enclosures,) January 24, 1862. 

Same to same, (with three enclosures,) February 16, 1862. 

Same to same, (with one enclosure,) April 10, 1862. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Romero April 11, 1862. 

The ministers of Spain, France, and Great Britain, to Mr. 

Seward, (enclosing convention of the allied powers, signed 

at London, October 31, 1861,) November 30, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Tassara, Mr. Mercier, and Lord Lyons . .December 4, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams August 24, 1861. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward September 14, 1861. 

Same to same ; September 19, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams September 24, 1861 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward September 28, 1861. 

Same to same October 4, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams October 10, 1861. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward October 11, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams October 12, 1861. 

Same to same October 14, 1861. 

Same to same October 19, 1861. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward October 24, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams October 28, 1861. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward November 1, 1861. 

Same to same November 8, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams November 9, 1861. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward November 14, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams November 21, 1861 . 

Same to same •» November 25, 1861. 

Same to same December 18, 1861. 

Same to same January 8, 1862. 



4 LIST OF DOCUMENTS. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward -. January 24, 1862. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams February 19, 1862. 

Same to game March 3, 1862. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward February 14, 1862. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams March 10, 1862. 

Mr, Seward to IMr. Dayton September 2, 1861. 

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward September 25, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton October 11, 1861. 

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward September 27, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton October 19, 1861. 

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward November 6, 1861. 

Same to same October 16, 1861, 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton November 4, 1861. 

Same to same November 23, 1861, 

Mr, Dayton to Mr. Seward November 7, 1 861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr, Dayton December 18, 1861. 

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward January 15, 1862. 

Same to same February 13, 1862. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton March 3, 1862, 

Same to same March 10, 1862. 

Same to same March 31, 1862, 

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward March 31, 1862. 

Mr. Schurz to Mr. ScAvard September 7, 1861. 

Same to same September 14, 1861. 

Mr, Seward to Mr. Schurz October 14, 1861. 

Same to same October 14, 1861. 

Mr, Schurz to Mr. Seward October 4, 1861. 

Same to same October 9, 1861. 

Mr, Seward to Mr, Schurz October 28, 1861. 

Mr, Schurz to Mr. Seward October 15, 1861. 

Same to same November 3, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz November 9, 1861. 

Mr. Schiu'z to Mr. Seward November 7, 1861. 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz November 11, 1861. 

Same to same November 23, 1861, 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz December 6, 1861. 

Same to same December 11, 1861. 

Correspondence respecting the affairs of Mexico, presented to both hoiises of 

■Parliament by command of her Majesty, 1862, containing 123 documents. 



CORRESPOEDEICE. 



Mr. Setvard to Mr. Corwin. 



No. 2.] Department of State, 

Washington, April 6, 1861. 

Sir : The actnal condition of affairs in Mexico is so imperfectly understood 
here that the President finds it very difficult to give you particular and prac- 
tical directions for the regulation of your conduct during your mission. 

Our latest information was, in suhstan&e, that the provisional government 
of President Juarez, so long confined to the sea-coasts of the country, had 
finally overthrown its adversaries and established itself at the capital; that 
the opposing armies had been demoralized and dispersed, and that there was 
no longer any armed resistance in the States ; that an election for president 
had been held, in conformity with the constitution of 1857, and that the now 
provisional president had probably secured a majority of the votes, although 
the result was as yet not certainly known. The pleasure which these events 
have inspired is unhappily diminished by rumors that the government is without 
sufficient authority or hold on the public confidence to maintain order ; that rob- 
beries are of frequent occurrence on the high roads, and even that a member of 
our late legation in the country has been murdered on his way from the city of 
Mexico to Vera Cruz. 

You will apply yourself at once, with energy and diligence, to investigate the 
truth of this last-mentioned occurrence, which, if found to have been accurately 
reported, will not only be regarded as a high offence against the dignity and 
honor of the United States, but will prove a severe shock to the sensibilities of 
the American people. 

The President is unable to conceive that any satisfactory explanation of a 
transaction so injurious to the character of Mexico can be made. He will, 
however, wait for your report concerning it, though with the deepest anxiety, 
before taking action upon the subject. 

I find the archives here full of complaints against the Mexican government 
for violations of contracts and spoliations and cruelties practiced against Ameri- 
can citizens. These complaints have been lodged in this department, from time 
to time, during the long reign of civil war in which the factions of Mexico have 
kept that covmtry involved, with a view to having them made the basis of de- 
mands for indemnity and satisfaction whenever government should regain in 
that country sufficient solidity to assume a character for responsibility. It is 
not the President's intention to send forward such claims at the present moment. 
He willingly defers the performance of a duty which at any time would seem 
ungracious, until the incoming administration in Mexico shall have had time, if 
possible, to cement its authority and reduce the yet disturbed elements of society 
to order and hannony. You Avill, however, be expected, m some maimer which 
will be marked with firmness as well as liberality, to keep the government there 
in mind that such of these claims as shall be found just wUl, in due time, be 
presented and urged upon its consideration. 

While now, as heretofore, it is a duty of this government to reason with that 
of Mexico, and deprecate a continuance of the chronic reign of disorder there, 
a crisis has unhappily arrived, in which the performance of this duty is embar- 
rassed by the occurrence of civil commotions in our own country, by which 



6 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Mexico, in congequence of her proximity, is not unlikely to be affected. Tlie 
spirit of discontent seems, at last, to have crossed the border, and to be engag-ed 
in an attempt to overthrow the authority of this government in some parts of 
the country which adjoin the Mexican republic. It is much to be feared that 
new embaiTassments of the relations of the two countries will happen when 
authority so long prostrated on the Mexican side finds the power of the United 
States temporarily suspended on this side of the frontier. Whatever evils shall 
thus occur, it is much to be feared, will be aggravated by the intervention of the 
Indians, who have been heretofore with difficulty restrained from violence, even 
while the federal authority has been adequately maintained. 

Both of the governments must address themselves to this new and annoying 
condition of things, with common dispositions to mitigate its evils and abridge 
its duration as much as possible. 

The President does not expect that you will allude to the origin or causes of 
our domestic difficulties in your iijtercourse with the government of Mexico, 
although that government' will rightfully as well as reasonably ask what are 
his expectations of their bourse and their end. On the contrary, the President 
will not suffer the representatives of the United States to engage in any discus- 
sion of the merits of those difficulties in the presence of foreign powers, much 
less to invoke even their censure against those of our fellow-citizens who have 
arrayed themselves in opposition to its authority. 

But you are instriTcted to assure the government of Mexico that these diffi- 
culties, having arisen out of no deep and permanent popular discontent, either 
in regard to our system of government itself or to the exercise of its authority, 
and being attended by social evils Avhich are as ruinous as they are unnecessary, 
Mobile no organic change that is contemplated could possibly bring to any por- 
tion of the American people any advantages of seciu-ity, peace, prosperity, or 
happiness equal to those Avhich the federal Union so effectually guaranties, the 
President confidently believes and expects that the people of the United States, 
in the exercise of the wisdom that hitherto has never failed them, will speedily 
and in a constitutional way adopt all necessary remedies for the restoration of 
the public peace and the preservation of the federal Union. 

The success of this government in conducting affairs to that consummation 
may depend in some small degree on the action of the government and people 
of Mexico in this new emergency. The President could not fail to see that 
Mexico, instead of being benefited by the prostration or the obstruction of fed- 
eral authority in this country, would be exposed by it to new and fearful dan- 
gers. On the other hand, a condition of anarchy in Mexico must necessarily 
operate as a seduction to those who are conspiring against the integrity of the 
Union to seek strength and aggrandizement for themselves by conquests in 
Mexico and other parts of Spanish America. Thus, even the dullest observer 
is at last able to see what was long ago distinctly seen by those who are en- 
dowed with any considerable perspicacity, that peace, ordpr, and constitutional 
authority in each and all of the several republics of this continent are not ex- 
clusively an interest of any one or more of them, but a common and indispen- 
sable interest of them all. 

This sentiment will serve as a key to open to you, in every case, the pur- 
poses, wishes, and expectations of the President in regard to your mission, 
which, I hardly need to say, he considers at this juncture perhaps the most m- 
tcresting and important one Avithin the whole cu-cle of our international relations. 

The President of the United States does not know, and he will not consent 
to know, Avith prejudice or undue favor any political party, religious class, or 
sectional interest in Mexico. He regrets that anything should have occurred to 
disturb the peaceful and friendly relations of Mexico with some of the foreign 
states lately represented at her capital. He hopes most sincerely that those 
relations may be everywhere renewed and reinvigorated, and that the independ- 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 7 

ence and sovereignty of Mexico and the government wliicli her people seem at 
last to have accepted, after so many conflicts, may be now universally acknowl- 
edged and respected. 

Taking into view the actual condition and circ.umstances of Mexico, as well 
as those of the United States, the President is fully satisfied that the safety, 
welfare, and happiness of the latter woiild be more effectually promoted if the 
former should retain its complete integrity and independence, than they could 
be by any dismembei-ment of Mexico, with a transfer or diminution of its sover- 
eignty, even though thereby a portion or the Avhole of the country or its sover- 
eignty should be transferred to the United States themselves. The President 
is, moreover, well aware that the ability of the government and people of Mexico 
to preserve and maintain the integrity and the sovereignty of the republic might 
be very much impaired, imder existing circumstances, by hostile or unfriendly 
action on the part of the government or of the people of the United States. If 
he needed any other incentive to practice justice and equality towards Mexico, 
it would be found in the reflection that the very contention and strife in our 
own country which at this moment excite so much domestic disquietude and so 
much surprise throughout a large part of the world, could probably never have 
happened if Mexico had always been able to maintain with firmness real and 
unquestioned sovereignty and independence. But if Mexico has heretofore 
been more unfortunate in these respects than many other modem nations, there 
are still chcumstances in her case which justify a hope that her sad experience 
may be now coming to an end. Mexico really has, or ought to have, no enemies. 
The world is deeply interested in the development of her agricultural, and 
especially her mineral and commercial, resources, while it holds in high respect 
the simple virtues and heroism of her people, and, above all, their mextinguish- 
able love of civil liberty. 

The President, therefore, will use all proper influence to favor the restoration 
of order and authority in Mexico, and, so far as it may be in his power, he will 
prevent incursions and every other form of aggression by citizens of the United 
States against Mexico. But he enjoins you to employ your best efforts in con- 
vincing the government bf Mexico, and even the people, if, with its approval, 
you can reach them, that the surest guaranty of their safety against such ag- 
gressions is to be found in a pei-manent restoration of the authority of that 
government. If, on the other hand, it shall appear in the sequel that the Mexi- 
can people are only now resting a brief season to recover their wasted energies 
sufficiently to lacerate themselves with new domestic conflicts, then it is to be 
feared that not only the government of the United States, but many other gov- 
ernments, will find it impossible to prevent a resort to that magnificent country 
of a class of persons, unhappily too numerous everywhere, who are accustomed 
to suppose that visionary schemes of public interest, aggrandizement, or reform, 
will justify even lawless invasion and aggression. 

In connexion with this point, it is proper that you should be informed that the 
Mexican government has, through its representative here, recently complained 
of an apprehended attempt at invasion of the State of Sonora by citizens of 
California, acting, as is alleged, with the knowledge and consent of some of the 
public authorities in that State. You will assure the Mexican government that, 
due care being first taken to verify the facts thus presented, effective means 
shall be adopted to put our neutrality laws into activity. 

The same representative has also expressed to the President an apprehension 
that the removal of the federal troops from the Texan border may be f dlowed 
by outbreaks and violence there. There is, perhaps, too much ground for this 
apprehension. Moreover, it is impossible to foresee the course of the attempts 
which are taking place in that region to subvert the proper authority of this 
government. The President, however, meantime directs you to assure the 
Mexican government that due attention shall be bestowed on the condition of 



8 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

the frontier, with a view to the preservation and safety of the peaceahle inhabit- 
ants residing there. He hopes and trusts that equal attention will be given to 
this important siibject by the authorities of Mexico. 

These matters, grave and urgent as they are, must not altogether withdraw 
our attention from others to which I have already incidentally alluded, but 
which require more explicit discussion. 

For a few years past the condition of Mexico has been so unsettled as to 
raise the question on both sides of the Atlantic whether the time has not come 
when some foreign power ought, in the general interest of society, to intervene 
to establish a protectorate or some other fonn of government in that country 
and guaranty its continuance there. Such schemes may even now be held under 
consideration by some European nations, and there is also some reason to believe 
that designs have been conceived in some parts of the United States to effect 
either a partial dismemberment or a complete overthrow of the Mexican govern- 
ment, -Rath a view to extend over it the authority of the newly projected con- 
federacy which a discontented part of our people are attempting to establish in 
the southern part of our own country. You may possibly meet agents of this 
projected confederacy, busy in preparing some farther revolution in Mexico. 
You will not fail to assure the government of Mexico that the President neither 
has, nor can ever have, any sympathy with such designs, in whatever quarter 
they may arise, or whatever character they may take on. 

In view of the prevailing temper and political habits and opinions of the 
Mexican people, the President can scarcely believe that the disafiected citizens 
of our own country, who are now attempting a dismemberment of the American 
Union, will hope to induce Mexico to aid them by recognizing the assumed in- 
dependence which they have proclaimed, because it seems manifest to him that 
such an organization of a distinct government over that part of the present 
Union which adjoins Mexico would, if possible, be fraught with evils to that 
country more intolerable than any Avhich the success of those desperate measures 
could inflict even upon the United States. At the same time it is manifest that 
the existing political organization in this country affords the surest guaranty 
Mexico can have that her integrity, union, and independence will be respected 
by the whole people of the American Union. 

The President, however, expects that you will be watchful of such designs 
as I have thus described, however improbable they may seem, and that you will 
use the most effective measures in your power to counteract any recognition of 
the projected Confederate States by the Mexican government, if it shall be 
solicited. 

Your large acquaintance with the character of the Mexican people, their in- 
terests and their policy, will suggest many proper arguments against such a 
measure, if any are needful beyond the intimations I have already given. 

In conclusion, the President, as you are well aware, is of opinion that, 
alienated from the United States as the Spanish American republics have been 
for some time past — largely, perhaps, by reason of errors and prejudices peculiar 
to themselves, and yet not altogether without fault on our own part — that those 
States and the United States, nevertheless, in some respects, hold a common 
attitude and relation towards all other nations; that it is the interest of them 
all to be friends as they are neighbors, and to mutually maintain and support 
each other so far as may be consistent with the individual sovereignty which 
each of them rightly enjoys, equally against all disintegrating agencies within, 
and all foreign influences or power without their borders. 

The President never for a moment doubts that the republican system is to 
pass safely tlirough all ordeals and prove a permanent success in our OAvn 
country, and so to be commended to adoption by all other nations. But he 
thinks also that that system everywhere has to make its Avay painfully through 
difficulties and embaiTassments, which result from the action of antagonistical 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 9 

elemeBts which are a legacy of former times and very different institutions. 
The President is hopeful of the ultimate triumph of this system over all 
obstacles, as well in regard to Mexico as in regard to every other American 
State; but he feels that those States are nevertheless justly entitled to a greater 
forbearance and more generous sympathies from the government and people of 
the United States than they are likely to receive in any other quarter. 

The President trusts that your mission, manifesting these sentiments, wiU re- 
assure the government of Mexico of his best disposition to favor their com- 
merce and their internal improvements. He hopes, indeed, that your mission, 
assuming a spirit more elevated than one of merely commerce and conventional 
amity, a spirit disinterested and unambitious, earnestly American- in the conti- 
nental sense of the Avord, and fraternal in no affected or mere diplomatic mean- 
ing of the term, while it shall secure the confidence and good will of the 
government of Mexico, will mark the inauguration of a new condition of things 
directly conducive to the prosperity and happiness of both nations, and ulti- 
mately auspicious to all other republican states throughout the world. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 



Thomas Oorwin, Esq., Sfc., ^c, Sfc. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract.] 



No. 1.] Legation of the United States, 

Ciii/ of Mexico, May 29, 1861. 
gjp. ******** 

I deem it of the very first importance that our consuls at every port on the 
Gulf of Mexico should be at their respective posts, with careful and specific in- 
structions as to their treatment of vessels sailing under the flag of the Confed- 
erate States, or having papers from ports within those States, made out by 
officers under their authority. 

Should the relations now existing, or which may hereafter exist, between the 
United States and the seceding States be such as to require of me any specific 
act in relation to such state of things, I beg to be advised of it by the depaii- 
ment as early as possible. 

The present government of Mexico is well affected towards us in our present 
difiiculties, but, for obvious reasons, will be unwilling to enter into any engage- 
ment which might produce war with the south, unless protected by promise of 

aid from the United States. 

******** 

I am, &c., 

THOMAS CORWIN. 
Hon. W. H. Seward, S^v., 8fc., S^-c. 

♦ 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 

[Extracts ] 

No. 2.] Legation of the United States, 

Mexico, June 29, 1861. 
Sin: *•#»#**♦ 

The present time is most propitious for Becuring the advantages and prevent- 



10 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

ing the evils which I have suggested. The government here feels the strongest 

sympathy with the United States. 

******** 

It has been my constant endeavor since my arrival here to possess the Mexi- 
can mind of the true causes of our difficulties, and thus enable them to estimate 
the danger to this republic which will result from any unfavorable termination 
of them. I am quite sure that whilst this government Avill endeavor to preserve 
peaceful relations with all the European powers on fan- terms, it regards the 
United States as its true and only reliable friend in any struggle which may 
involve the national existence. That this should be so is somewhat remark- 
able, when tve regard the deep prejudices engendered in the general Mexican 
mind by the loss of Texas, which they attribute to our citizens, and the com- 
pulsory cession of territory which was a consequence of our war with them. 
* * * * * * #* 

I rnn, &c,, 

THOMAS CORWIN. 
Hon. W. H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, U. S., ^., Sfc., ^x. 



Mr. Seicard to Mr. Corwin. 



[Extract.] 

No. S.] Department of State, 

Washington, June 3, 1861. 

Sir : Information, which wears an air of authenticity, leads us to apprehend 
that a design exists, on the part of the insurgents of this country, to gain pos- 
session of the peninsula of Lower California, to cut off our commerce with Mexico, 
to seize the Panama steamers, and, with the aid of the treasure so to be acquired, 
to extend their conquests to Sonora and Chihuahua. The design is understood 
to embrace an ultimate absorption of all Mexico. We are informed that the 
native-born population of California would, to a man, join the invaders in such 
a case. 

We shall immediately take care to have the commanders of our land and 
naval forces on the Pacific coast and ocean instructed to prevent this threatened 
violation of the territory and sovereignty of Mexico. The President desires 
you to bring the subject at once to the notice of the government of that 
republic. 

You will invoke its energetic and vigorous efforts to the defence of its own 
sovereignty in the peninsula. 

Secondly, you will assure that government of the cordial co-operation of this 
government, and will ask its consent, if there shall be need for the intervention 
of our forces, so far as to prevent the invasion, by the insurgent citizens of this 
country, from being made effectual ; it being in no case the purpose of this gov- 
ernment to retain any possession, or exercise any political authority within the 
limits of Mexico, beyond the defeat of the designs before described. 

Thirdly, the United States do not desire to acquire any part of Mexico. 

* *.* * * * * * * * 

Thomas Cobwin, Esq., Sfc., Sfc, Sfc. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 11 

Mr. Scicard to Mr. Corwin. 

[Extracts.] 

No. 11.] Department of State, 

Washington, June 24, 1861. 

Sir: Your despatch (No. 1) of the 29tli of May last has been received. 

The President approves your speech to the chief magistrate of Mexico, and is 
gratified with the very just and generous sentiments expressed by him in his 
reply. 

This government is highly pleased with the opinions and sentiments so full 
of generosity and of hope in regard to Mexico which you have expressed in 
your despatch. We pray God that they may be vindicated by the restoration 
of the peace, order, credit, power, and influence of that republic. 

Your suggestion to negotiate for religious liberty in behalf of American citizens 
in Mexico is cordially approved, and you are authorized to make it a subject as 
prominent as you may think discreet in the negotiations, in regard to which we 
have left you so liberal a range. We think favorably also of your suggestion 
to obtain a stipulation against the imposition of forced loans on American citizens 
in any emergencies, and you will negotiate accordingly. 

********** 

The President expects that you will in every case exercise your best judg- 
ment as to the measm-es necessary to prevent the insurgent armed vessels from 
finding shelter in Mexican ports, and also to prevent arms and other military 
stores being carried to the seceding States through Mexico. The consuls will 
be instructed to confer with you and follow your instructions. 

We are attempting to negotiate, through Mr. Romero, a postal treaty with, the 
republic of Mexico. You will be promptly advised of our progress. * * 

Thomas Corwin, Esq., S^x., 8fc., h^c. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Convin. 

[Extract.] 



No. 13.] Department of State, 

WasJiington, July 30, 1S61. 

Sir : I communicate to you extracts from a despatch which has just been 
received from Mr. Dayton, our minister in Prance. 

I fear that Mr. Almonte's solicitude about our relations with the present gov- 
ernment of Mexico is excited by wishes personal rather than patriotic. I am 
unable to see how any good could happen to Mexico from overturning the pres- 
ent government and bringing in another which could give no better guarantees 
of stability and order, liut J am too far from the scene to judge safely either 
for our own government or for that of Mexico, 

********* 

Thomas Corwin, Esq., S^c., S^., ^-c. 



12 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Mr. Convi7i to Mr. Seioard. 

[Exti-cacts ] 
No. 2.] Mexico, June 29, 1S6L 

Sir : 1 have tlie lionor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches Nos. 
3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, with the papers referred to in them. 

********* 

Since my last despatches the country here has been in a state of great disorder. 
Bands of armed men, in numbers varying from fifty to four thousand, have been 
ravaging the country in this and two or three adjoining States, pushing their 
operations to the very suburbs of this city. These forces are made up of the 
fragTuents of the army commanded formerly by Miramon, and a portion of the 
worst of the liberal troops disbanded on the final conquest of this city in Decem- 
ber last — the latter generally organized for the mere purpose of plunder, and 
acting under chiefs taken from the forces of the church party, or, as they are 
called, reactionists. Marquez (the same officer who ordered the infamous mas- 
sacre at Tacubaya) commands the reactionary forces, and has been hovering in 
the mountains near Mexico for the last week — sometimes within ten miles of 
the city. He is reported to have marched now to the neighborhood of Puebla. 
The government forces have pursued him for several hundred miles within the 
last two weeks without result. General Ortega commands the liberal forces. 
He is now in the city. Two days ago the congress (now in session) elected 
him chief judge, of the supreme court. This was a merely revolutionary move- 
ment, as the constitution gives no authority of the kind, to that body, but ex- 
pressly provides that the judges of that court shall be elected bi/ the people. 
This act was done to pave the way, however, to make Ortega president, as it 
was supposed Juarez could be persuaded to resign, and in that event the newly- 
elected judge (by the constitution) would take his place. Every means of a 
peaceful nature is now being employed to induce Juarez to resign. I think the 
project will succeed, and Ortega will be the next revolutionary president. I 
entertain strong fears that this movement will fail of its intended effect. Having 
its origin in a revolutionary act, not warranted by the constitution, it will form 
a plausible precedent for another act of the same nature in favor of some other 
chief who may attain a temporary popularity in a similar emergency, which is 
very likely to arise soon unless Ortega shall be more fortunate than his prede- 
cessors for the last forty years. The great want of this republic is that fuhlic 
opinion which is so omnipotent with us, and this again arises from the want of 
an enlightened 2)eopile. Hence, in the last forty years Mexico has passed through 
tliirty-six different forms of government ; has had seventy -two, or rather, up to this 
time, has had seventy-three presidents. Still, I do not despair of the final triumph 
of free government in Mexico. Progress has been made. The signs of regenera- 
tion, though few, are still visible. Had the present liberal party enough money at 
command to pay an army of ten thousand men, I am satisfied it could suppress the 
present opposition, restore order, and preserve internal peace. These once achieved, 
the leaders of this party would adhere to the written constitution and enforce 
obedience to law ; and industry, secure in its rewards, would soon take the 
place of idleness and crime. Education of the right kind begins to be felt as a 
necessity, which in time would, under such auspices, expel from the minds of 
the people religious superstition, and make the supremacy of either religious or 
j)olitical despotism impossible. I am persuaded that the pecuniary resources to 
effect these objects at this time must come from abroad. This country is ex- 
hausted, as might be expected, by forty years of almost uninterrupted civil was. 
She looks now, and has looked for some time in vain, for help ii'om other nations 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 13 

England presses lier, and claims from her the scanty resources at her command, 
to pay the interest on a debt of about sixty-two millions due to British subjects. 
France urges with equal pertinacity the claims of French subjects, into whose 
hands bonds issued by the Zuloaga and Miramon governments to the amount 
of some fifty millions have fallen. These last were put out at a time when the 
liberal government was contending against the above-named self-constituted 
dictators in that struggle which terminated in their final overthrow six months 
ago. These bonds, it is said, were sold to French subjects here for sums vary- 
ing from one-half of one per cent, to four or five per cent., and are now claimed 
as a debt of the republic, to be paid in full. Meantime there is not one dollar 
from day to day in the treasury, and only yesterday another heavy forced loan 
was made to raise money to pay troops to protect the citizens of this capital and 
its neighborhood from pillage and slaughter. I state the foregoing facts as uni- 
versally admitted, in the hope of obtaining from the department instructions 
jiermitting me to negotiate a treaty which, for ample equivalents, may stipulate 
for the payment by us of a sum varying from five to ten millions in money 
or United States stocks, to be paid in instalments to this government, which 
would enable it to keep on foot a sufficient force to save it from ultimate sub- 
jugation, perhaps to one of these European monarchies, or, it may be, from a 
partition of its territory amongst them all. The sale of territory is the last 
expedient to which this government will resort : perhaps it would be refused 
under any circumstances. If, however, this could be effected, I presume at 
present it would not be a popular measure with our government. If this should 
be adopted, I would strongly recommend Lower California as the most eligible 
for both parties. This territory is of no value to Mexico ; its population does 
not exceed twelve thousand. A glance at the map will show its importance to 
us in a naval or military point of view, in the event of an attack upon our 
Pacific possessions by any naval power, or any attempt upon its or Mexico in 
that quarter by a lawless force. I have reason to know that this territory is 
much more valuable than is generally supposed in mineral resources. 

Another expedient, and perhaps one more likely to be favored by both govern- 
ments, is this : The Mexican tariff is now under revision by a committee whose 
labors will be submitted soon to Congress. In conversation with one of the 
leading minds here, he suggested that for a sum, to be stipulated in a treaty, to 
be paid in instalments, Mexico would agree to admit all articles the growth or 
manufacture of the United States at a rate fifty per centum below the duties to 
be paid by other nations, with a stipulation that no change shall be made in 
favor of other nations without a payment by such nations of an amount equal to 
that paid by us, calculated upon the proportion which the commerce of such 
nation with Mexico has borne for the last five years to ours. I wish to be 
understood here as only suggesting the outlines of an arrangement, or rather 
the leading principle which should be adopted, if a measure of that kind is 
thought expedient. 

It has been supposed that the church property, which has been secularized 
and made available to the government, would furnish an am]Dle fund to enable 
the government to preserve itself and pay the interest and principal of the public 
debt. This fund has been entirely, or almost entirely, exhausted in the last three 
years' struggle, and is no longer a resource to be calculated upon. If the liberal 
government here is not sustained, and the church party get possession of the 
cajjilal again, the following consequences may be calculated on as inevitable : 
First. It is most probable that, as heretofore, the liberal government will take 
refuge in some one of the States favorable to it, and wage another protracted 
Avar for supremacy, the end of which must be considered as doubtful when we 
take into view the exhausted condition of the States favorable to the liberal 
party ; or, secondly, the respective States avIU form combinations regulated by 
territorial and neighborhood ideas, and set up a number of small confederacies. 



14 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

say four or five. Looking at the geographical and political map of the republic; 
it is not likely, in the event of a disintegration, that there would be less than 
four separate political organizations. Each of these would be too weak to stand 
alone against the temptation to seek a protectorate somewhere. Ambitious 
chiefs would soon be found, like Santa Anna, of San Domingo, who would throw 
their power down at the feet of some European government. I have strong 
reasons for the belief that England, France, and Spain are each looking to such 
a result. England desires to possess (as she now very nearly does, owing '♦t) 
our neglect of our interests in this quarter) the commerce of the Gulf States as 
well as that of the western coast. Spain, in her rising fortunes, cannot but de- 
sire to repossess herself of her lost American colonies. The recent movement 
on San Domingo is ample proof of this. The towering ambition of Napoleon to 
regulate Europe, when it shall have been gratified in that quarter, will seek to 
dazzle the world by impressing upon this continent the idea of French glory 
and French supremacy. Indeed, I have seen, in a recent number of a creditable 
journal, a statement that France and England now have under consideration the 
project of intervention in Mexican affairs. How will any or all of these ideas, 
if 'realized, affect the great idea of free government on this continent ? Surely 
American statesmen should be awake to even a suspicion that such portentous 
events are possible. Had our madmen allowed the majestic march of freedom 
to progress, Spain Avould not now have shown her flag in San Domingo, nor 
would it ever have been suggested that any possible event could make Mexico 
again a rich appanage to any European crown. Unhappy as our domestic 
situation may now be, I feel an assured, confidence that the northern United 
Sfcxtes are equal to the successful termination of the struggle at home, and at 
the same time able to secure our interests and promote successfully the cause 
of human progress on this entire continent. These opinions have led me to re- 
gard our present connexions with Mexico as of more importance than they may 
seem to be to those who are in the midst of the great rebellion which very 
properly engrosses the chief attention of the government at this time. My 
duty, 1 have supposed, was to guard our interests here, as they are connected 
directly or remotely with those ideas which are now in conflict in the United 
States. 

The present time is most propitious for securing the advantages and prevent- 
ing the evils which I have suggested ; the government here feels the strongest 
sympathy with the United States. ***** It has been my constant 
endeavor since my arrival here to possess the Mexican mind of the true causes 
of our diificulties, and thus enable them to estimate the danger to this republic 
which will result from any unfavorable termination of them. I am quite sure 
that whilst this government will endeavor to preserve peaceful relations with all 
the European powers on fair tenns, it regards the United States as its time and 
only reliable friend in any struggle which may involve its national existence, 
/That this should be so is somewhat remarkable, when we regard the deep preju- 
dices engendered in the general Mexican mind by the loss of Texas which they 
attribute to our citizens, and the compulsory cession of territory Avhich was a 
consequence of our war with them. 



Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Hon. W. H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, U. S. of America, 



THOMAS CORWIN 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 15 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Setvard. 

No. 3.] Legation of the United States, 

City of Mexico, July 29, 1861. 

Sir : In my last despatcli to the department under date of 29th ultimo, No. 
2, I suggested the probability of an armed European intervention in the affairs 
of Mexico, or a partition of its territory. 

Since that time events here have given greater plausibility to those fears. 
On the 17th day of this month the Mexican congress passed a decree suspend- 
ing the payment of all debts of every sort due from the government for the 
term of two years. 

The English and French ministers immediately sent in their protests respec- 
tively, copies of which, marked Gr 1 and 2, I transmit herewith. 

At the expiration of the time mentioned in these protests, the legations of 
both these powers took down their flags and signs, and advised the department 
of foreign affairs here that all diplomatic intercourse with their respective gov- 
ernments and Mexico was at an end. England and France seem to be acting 
in concert in this movement. They either intend to frighten Mexico into a repeal 
of the obnoxious decree, or they take this step as the best and quickest means 
to initiate such movements as will end in possible occupation of the entire mari- 
time frontier of the republic, which would inevitably lead to the possession of 
the whole of the interior. 

I beg the department to consider whether, ij" it be possihle, our duty and in- 
terest do not require of lis to prevent the consummation of this scheme. 

If the interest of the debt due to English bondholders could be secured, say 
for five years, that alone would put a stop to every attempt of the kind sug- 
gested above. The bondholders' debt is now about sixty-two millions, bearing 
an interest of three per cent, per annum. The interest oh this debt would 
amount to less than two millions a year. If Mexico should offer any equiva- 
lent acceptable to our government for the guarantee of the payment of this in- 
terest for five years, would it not be our interest to close with such a proposi- 
tion? 

England and Spain are now in possession of the 'best of the West India islands, 
(for I consider San Domingo is certain to fall into the hands of Spain before our re- 
bellion is quelled,) and Mexico a colony of England, with the British power on 
the north of our possessions, would leave on the map of this continent a very 
insignificant part for the United States, especially should the present unnatural 
rebellion end in the final severance from us of eight or nine, or all of the slave 
States. 

Mexico, I am persi^aded, would be willing to pledge all her public lands and 
mineral rights in Lower California, Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa, as well as 
her national faith, for the payment of this guarantee. This would probably 
end in the cession of the sovereignty to us. It would be certain to end thus if 
the money were not promptly paid as agreed on. By such an arrangement two 
consequences would follow: First, all hope of extending the dominion of a 
separate southern republic in this quarter or in Central America would be ex- 
tinguished, and any further attempt in all time to come to establish European 
power on this continent would cease to occupy the minds of either England or 
continental Europe. If the republics of Mexico or Central America could 
maintain themselves against southern filibusters or European cupidity, I should 
not desire either to intenneddle in their concerns or add any of their territory 
to ours, except, perhaps, Lower California, which may become indispensable to 
the protection of our Pacific possessions. ' 

The reasons, however, for a departure from this rule, arising out of our present 



16 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

apparent weakness, stimulating aggression, as well by filibusters as Europeans, 
seem to demand serious consideration. The United States are the only safe 
guardians of the independence and true civilization of this continent. It is their 
mission, and they should fulfil it. This task would have been comparatively 
easy but for the madness of the south, plunging us into our present difficulties. 

Europe is quite willing to see us humbled, and will not fail to take advantage 
of our embarrassments to execute purposes of which she would not have dreamed 
had we refnaiued at peace. 

I repeat these suggestions as my reasons for desiring instructions on the points 
stated above, relating to aid to Mexico in some form suitable to her present 
exigencies. 

Her late suspension, leading to the cessation of diplomatic relations with 
England and France, may, perhaps, have been imprudent. She could not pay 
the debts, however, and maintain her government ; and perhaps it was as well to 
say she would not pay for two years, as to promise to pay, and subject herself to 
the mortification of constantly asking further time. She is impoverished to the 
last degree by forty years of civil war. I cannot find in this republic any men 
of any party better qualified, in my judgment, for the task than those in power. 
If they do not save her, then I am quite sure she is to be the prey of some 
foreign power, and they, I fear, cannot without our aid. I say our aid, for she 
will look in vain for help elsewhere. 

Mr. J. T. Pickett is here in the character of commissioner from the so-called 
" Confederate States." I believe the secretary of foreign aff^iirs has given him 
a private intervicAV at his house. I have the positive assurance of the president 
that this government will not entertain any propositions coming from that quarter 
which may seem to recognize these States in any other light than as a part of 
the United States. 

Well-informed Mexicans, in and out of the government, seem to be well aware 
that the independence of a southern confederacy vrould be the signal for a war 
of conquest with a view to establish slavery in each of the twenty-two States of 
this republic. 

I have judged it proper to forward to our ministers at Paris and London the 
protests of the French and English ministers to the decree of the Mexican con- 
gress, in the hope that they will offer their good offices to mitigate the unfriendly 
feeling of the British and French cabinets towards this country. 

I have nearly completed the arrangement for two treaties with the cabinet. 
They will probably be submitted to congress before its adjournment, which is 
fixed for the 30th instant, but may be postponed for a few days. I have ao 
doubt of their ratification, but it will come too late for the present mail. 

One of these is a treaty for the extradition of criminals, the other is a postal 
convention. The latter is in all essentials quite the same with that, a fonn of 
which reached here from Mr. Romero. The former is, in substance, like those 
we have concluded Avith other powers. 

I am deeply impressed with the necessity of having our consul at Vera Cruz 
at his post. I forwarded his exequatur to the vice-consul at that place some 
weeks since. I am satisfied that the pviblic interests require the best officers at 
all the ports on the Gulf, as well as in the West India islands. 

I beg to call your attention to a paper addressed by Mr. La Reintrie, acting 
as special agent of this legation under instructions from Mr. McLane, to all the 
foreign ministers at this place, under date of December 20th last. It must or 
should be in the State Department, as well as the instructions of Mr. McLane, 
on which it is based. I wish to know if the government concurs fully in the 
views and principles therein set forth. I hope the government will immediately 
take steps to insure a mail twice a month between New York and Vera Oniz. 
As New Orleans is now a closed port, we can only receive adAdces once a month — 
this a British steamer, and that by no means certain. The commerce of the 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. , 17 

Gulf woiild be much more seciu'e liad we two vessels sailing in those waters 
once a moutli. 

I must also ask your particular attention to papers forwarded to the depart- 
ment on the 23d March last bj Colonel Waller, exculpating Colonel Natzmer, 
vice-consul at Minatitlan, from the charges on which he was removed. I know 
Mr. A. C. Allen well, (the consul at that place,) he is a gentleman on whose 
truth and honor I am sure I can rely. He has satisfied me that Natzmer is not 
guilty of any act inconsistent with his official duty. His statement is with the 
papers alluded to. I trust Colonel N. will be restored. 

I have received from the department the President's proclamation, under date 
of April 19, 1861. 

I am, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 

THOMAS CORWIN. 

29th, 1 p. M. 
P. S. — The mails per British steamer are just at hand, but I have not a 
single communication or paper. A passenger states (as I am informed by the 
consul at Vera Cruz) that an American steamer was in sight as the British 
steamer was leaving Havana. 

No mail is expected from Havana until 15th August, when the steamer Union 
leaves there, her mails reaching this city on the 26th of that month, before 
which time it will therefore be impossible for me now to get any advices. 

My latest despatches from the department are those I acknoAvledged on the 
29th ultimo. 

Respectfully, » 

THOMAS CORWIN. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington. 



Mr. La Reintrie to Ministers of Foreign Powers in Mexico. 

San Angel, (near Mexico,) 

Becemher 20, 1860. 

Sir : I have the honor to advise you of my arrival at this place in the charac- 
ter of special agent of the legation of the United States in Mexico, with insttuc- 
tions from the honorable Robert M. Me Lane, envoy extraordinary and minister 
plenipotentiary of the United States, to communicate with the representatives of 
foreign powers now residing in the city of Mexico, and to make known to them 
the policy of the government of the United States with respect to Mexico, under 
the present deplorable circumstances which afflict this republic. 

You arc aware that proposals have already been made by the government of 
Great Britain to the two parties now contending for political power and ascend- 
ency in Mexico, with the object of bringing about a pacification of the country. 
These efforts, howcAX'r, have thus far failed of the desired end — both j^arties 
declining the preferred intervention and meditation, because neither are willing 
to compromise the great principles at issue in the pending civil war. 

The liberals, who had taken up arms in defence of the right of the people to 
govern themselves, and to live under a constitution that guarantees political 
efiuality to every citizen of the republic, Avere unwilling to confide the adjust- 
ment of these sacred rights to a foreign intervention and mediation. On the 
other hand, the conservatives Avere unA\alling to surrender their organization, or 
to subject the government of General Miramon to any foreign intervention that 
did not guarantee to them the ascendency and triumph of principles Avhich are 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 2 



18 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

in direct antagonism with tlie ecjuality of tlie citizen and the form of a repixbli- 
can government. 

At a later period the governments of France and Spain have both, with more 
or less formality, renewed the efforts Avhich Great Britain originally made, and 
the same obstacles which rendered the efforts of Great Britain unavailing have 
attended these subsequent efforts. 

I am, therefore, instructed to inform you that all these matters have been 
fully and duly considered by the govermnent of the United States, and that the 
policy heretofore adopted by the liberals in their intercourse with European 
powers, in relation to these negotiations for peace, has been approved and 
adopted by it, and that it has determined to resist any forcible attempt to impose 
a particular adjustment of the existing conflict against the Avill and sanction of 
the people of Mexico, and, also, any forcible intervention, by any power, which 
looks to the control of the political destiny thereof. 

This determination on the part of the government of the United States has 
already been explicitly, though respectfully, declared to all the powers of Europe. 

The government of the United States does not deny to the European powers 
the right to wage honorable warfare for a sufficient cause, anywhere, or against any 
nation ; nor does it deny their right to dpmand redress for injuries inflicted on their 
respective subjects, and, if need be, to enforce such demands ; but it does deny 
them the right to mterfere, directly or indirectly, with the political independence 
of the republic of Mexico, and it will, to the extent of its power, defend the 
nationality and independence of said republic. 

This settled policy of the government of the United States, I believe, is well 
understood by all the representatives of European powers in Mexico. It is also 
fully understood and appreciated by the constitutional government at Vera 
Cruz; and, under my instructions, it becomes my duty to cause it to be well 
understood by all those who, from their public character and the cii'cumstances 
that characterize the political condition of the republic, are charged Avith the 
responsibilities of political power and authority, in order that said policy may 
neither be misunderstood nor misrepresented to the prejudice of either Mexico 
or of the United States. 

I am further instructed to state, in the most explicit manner, that the govern- 
ment of the United States earnestly desires the pacification of Mexico, and that 
it will recognize and support any government that is adopted and accepted by 
the free choice of the people thereof, and that it will always encourage the 
friendly efforts of any foreign power that have for its objects such a result — 
notwithstanding its resolution to abstain from all di7-ect participation in any such 
mediation, and its adherence to the relations already established between it and 
the constitutional government of the republic. 

Having complied with the spirit of my instructions from the minister of the 
United States, I have, in conclusion, to request your acceptance of my con- 
sideration and respect. 

HENEY EOT DE LA EEINTEIE, 
Special Agent United States Legation in Mexico. 

This communication was sent to all the representatives of foreign powers in 
Mexico, to wit: Mr. Dubois de Saligny, France; Mr. J. F. Pacheco, Spain; 
Mr. George B. Mathew, England; Mr. E. de Wagner, Prussia; Mr. Clementie, 
Nuncio of the Holy See; Mr. F. N. del Barrio, Guatemala; F. de P. Pastor, 
Ecuador. 

H. R. DE LA EEINTEIE. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION- OF MEXICO. 19 

Mr. Seivard to Mr. Cortvi?i. 

No. 16.] Department of State, 

Washington, August 24, 1861. 

Sir : In your despatch of the 29th ultimo, numbered 3, you call my attention 
to a circular from Henry Roy de la Reintre, under date of December 20, 1860, 
to all the representatives of foreign poAvers in Mexico, which purports to have 
been written by direction of your predecessor, Mr. McLane, and you desire to 
know whether this government concurs in the views and principles therein set 
forth. 

To answer this question broadly in the affirmative would be to commit it to 
opinions expressed by the writer of that paper concerning the merits of domestic 
political parties in •Mexico, in transactions which, since that paper was Aratten, 
have been fully completed and ende,d. 

Again, although I am very sure that this gOA'ernment cherishes the actual 
independence of Mexico as a cardinal object to the exclusion of all foreign po- 
litical intervention, and is willing to take decided measures favoring that inde- 
pendence, as is seen in another despatch to you of this date, yet the present 
moment does not seem to me an opportune one for formal reassiirance of the 
policy of the government to foreign nations. Prudence requires thai, in order 
to surmount the evils of faction at home, we should not unnecessarily provoke 
debates with foreign countries, but rather repair, as speedily as possible,, the 
prestige which those evils have impaired. 

Perhaps it will be sufficient for me to say that it is our wish and our pur- 
pose, so far as our action may bear upon the question, that the people of Mexico 
shall, in evgry case, be exclusive arbiters of their own political fortunes, and 
remain free and independent of all foreign intervention and control whatever. 
I hardly know how it can be necessary for the government of the United States 
to say this in view of the policy and principles set forth in the instructions under 
which your mission to Mexico was begun. 

The postal convention made in this city, on the 31st July, having been ratified 
by the Senate of the United States, now awaits ratification by the government 
of Mexico. I send you a copy for youi- iufonnation. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



Thomas Corwin, Esq., 8fc., ^c, Sfc. 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Mr. Cortvin to Mr. Seward, 
[Extracts.] 



No. 4.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, August 28, 1861. 

Sir: 

********* 

Your instructions touching Lower California, alluded to in your despatch No. 
11, have not been received here. If not destroyed on their way 1 may hope to 
get them either by the Spanish steamer Union, which passes from Havana to 
Vera Cruz once a month, the mail from which is due here to-night, or by the 
British steamer which comes from Havana to Vera Cruz every month, Avhose 
mail will be due here the 30th instant. 

Nothing has occuiTcd hero to change the relations between Mexico and the 
United States since my last despatch. The liberal government still maintains 
its power, though its dominion is disputed by armed bands of reactionary troops 



20 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

in cliffcvent parts of the republic. The pursuit of these robber bands in various 
directions compels the government to keep up a considerable military force, the 
expense of which has drained the last dollar from the treasury, and the govern- 
ment has often been compelled to borrow from individuals sums varying from 
830,000 to $100,000, at enormous rates, for the purpose of moving a battalion or 
one or two regiments against the roving bands of the reactionary party. Many 
plans, have been suggested by the friends of the government, and one or two 
by tlic department of foreign affairs, in conversation, for present relief of a ' 
pecuniary nature. None of ihese, however, were of a character which I deemed 
practicable, and therefore I have as yet presented to the government no propo- 
sition for a treaty which has for its basis the payment of money to Mexico by 
the United States. I have no doubt that any treaty which would give the 
present government from five to ten millions of dollars in monthly instalments 
of, say, a quarter of a million, w^ould enable it to crush the last hope of the 
church party as well as to restore comparative safety from robber bands who 
infest the roads and rob travellers in all directions. Such a sum would also 
enable the government to arrange the foreign debt, the non-payment of the 
interest on which has caused the English and French ministers to discontinue 
diplomatic relations, till further orders, with Mexico, and which at present 
threatens to end in foreign intervention, which was alluded to in my despatch 
No. 3, under date of July 29, 1861. I am extremely anxious to obtain the 
view's of the department on the subject proposed in that despatch, and hope to 
receive them by the mails of to-morrow or next day. 

Mr. Pickett, commissioner from what he denominates " the Confederate 
StatesV is still here. He and three southern persons, sojourning in this city, 
were engaged last night in rejoicing over the victory at Bull Run and Manassas 
Gap. The sketch of that battle in the New York Herald of the 23d of July 
reached here yesterday. The paper came here from Havana by private con- 
veyance. Mr. Pickett has learned that Mexico had granted the United States 
the privilege of marching troops through Mexican territory to Arizona, He has 
informed the government here that this will be considered as oifensive to the 
"Confederate States," as New j\Iexico had placed herself under the protection 
of those States. He has said in private conversation that " if this decree is not 
. anmdled Mexico tvill lose the State of Tamaulipas in sixty days." 

By looking on any map of Mexico it will be seen that Tamaulipas, Nuevo 
Leon, Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Sonora, all adjoin Texas or New Mexico. 
Tamaulipas is easily approached by her j)ort, Tamj)ico, on the Mexican gulf, 
and also by land from Texas. All the others of these States can be reached by 
land from Texas or New Mexico. Guaymas is the great port on the Giilf of 
California from and to which shipments are made for the States of Sonora and 
Chihuahua, and also to our territory of New Mexico, including Arizona. It is, 
therefore, reasonable enough to conclude that United States troops from Cali- 
fornia could be landed at Guaymas in seven days by steamers, and with a safe 
passage tlu-ough Sonora could confront any rebel force operating in Arizona or 
New Mexico proper, and also be in a position to act against any fiUibustering 
enemy which might attack any of the Mexican States bordering on Texas. It 
is no doubt the design of the " Southern Confederation," whenever it can, to 
seize all of these States, indeed, to possess itself of the entire Terra Caliente 
of Mexico, that being well adapted to slave labor. If Mexico should be attacked 
under the pretence that she had jiistly offended the Confederate States, by the 
grant of passage through Sonora, every obligation of honor would seem to re- 
quire that our troops should be ready to enforce our laws against fiUibustering 
expeditions from our territories against the territories of a nation with whom 
we are at peace. Such troops would at the same time be efiicient to restore 
our la}\lul dominion in Texas and New Mexico. Upper California, Oregon, and 
"Washington Territory could furnish a respectable force for all these purposes. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO^ 21 

wbicli could be conveyed by water to Guaymas, and from tbence by land, over 
good roads, to tbeir proper points of operation. 

Tbe States bordering* on Texan and our 'New Mexican frontiers are very 
weak in population and Avealtli, and could be conquered by a comparatively 
small force. 

Tamaulipas bas only one bundred and eigbt tboiisand of all ages, races, and 
sexes. 

Tbe entire population of tbe five Mexican States above named is stated in 
tbe most reliable census to be six bundred and twenty-eigbt tboiTsand, of all 
ages, sexes, and races, covering an area of sixty-seven tbousand five bundred 
and sixty-tbree square miles. I am informed tbat recent discoveries of mineral 
wealtb in Sonora and Cbiliuabua bave invited large bodies of men from Cali- 
fornia to tbose two States. It is suspected tbat tbey are of a class easily in- 
duced to unite witb tbe soutbern rebels in an attack on tbese and tbeir neigh- 
boring Mexican States, as well as to promote soutbern pretensions in New Mexico 
and Texas. I suggest wbetber a prudent forecast would not invite our govern- 
ment to raise in California and Oregon a force wbicb sbould pass, from Guaymas 
tbrougb Sonora, to our possessions in New Mexico and Arizona, for tbe purposes 
suggested above. 

A contract bas been concluded bere witb tbe government for carrying tbe 
mail froni New York city to Vera Criiz, via Havana, twice a month, and so 
twice a month from Vera Cruz to New York ; a siibsidy of fifty thousand dollars 
per annum is given for the service. This subsidy is quite r-mall, but if a subsidy 
from our government, m proportion to its interest in the line, compared with 
that of this government, is granted, we may hope tbe enterprize will go into 
immediate operation. If this, however, should fail, another expedient might be 
adopted. I understand boats run regularly from New York to Havana three 
times a month. If the government could put a despatch boat on the line be- 
tween Havana and Vera Cruz to meet tbe boats from New York at Havana, 
this would give us a. mail three times a month. This boat, if armed, might 
supersede the necessity of keeping an armed ship at Vera Cruz, and render 
valuable service in tbe pi'otection of our commerce in the Gulf. Something- 
should be done to render the commerce between the United States and this 
country certain and more frequent. My latest despatch from the department is 
dated 24tli June, 1861, and latest reliable ncAvs is dated the 11th July. It is 
now T\athin thrcQ days of the 1st of September. The mail from Washington, 
if sent by steam to Vera Cruz, could easily reach this city in thirteen days. 

I have this day concluded a postal treaty with Mr. Lerdo, the minister ap- 
pointed ad hoc, which will be submitted to the State Department to-morroAV. 
I have no doubt it Avill be approved by tbat department and sent to congress 
for ratification at its second meeting, which is to open next Monday. I hope to 
conclude Avith the same minister an extradition treaty, Avhich can be ratified 
dui'iug the coming month. 

I bave heretofore urged the necessity of having consuls on the Gulf, especially 
at Vera Cruz, the most important, whose fidelity and ability sbould be beyond 
even suspicion. The vice-consul at Vera Cruz has served many years there in 
tbat capacity, under Mr. Pickett. Mr. Pickett is noAv here, the agent of the 
" Confederate States." I kuoAV nothing against Mr. Rieken. I am sure some 
strange accident bas happened that important despatch to Avhich you allude in 
your despatcli No. 11. 

Wliy is not ]\Ir. Dunnell at his post 1 Tbat at Vera Cruz is one of the most 
important consulates, /«.yi now, in our scrA-ice. 

Veiy respectfully, &c., 
Hon. W. H. SKWAiin, THOMAS CORWIN. 

Secretary of State, Washington. 



22 tTHE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Mr. Seioard to Mr. Corwin. 

No. 17.] Department op State, 

Washington, SeiAevihcr 2, 1861. 

Sir : Your clespatcli of tlie 29tli July last, numbered 3, has just now been 
received. The account of Mexican complications which it gives is painfully 
interesting. The President greatly desires that the political status of Mexico 
as an independent nation shall be permanently maintained. The events you 
communicate alarm him upon this point; and ne conceives that the people of the 
United States would scarcely justify him were he to make no effort for prevent- 
ing so great a calamity on this continent as would be the extinction of that 
republic. He has therefore determined to authorize and empower you, and you 
are hereby authorized and empowered, to negotiate a treaty with the republic 
of Mexico for the assumption by the government of the United States of the 
payment of the interest, at three per cent., upon the funded debt of that country 
due to Mexican bondholders, the principal of which is ixnderstood to be about 
sixty-two millions of dollars, for the term of five years ■ from the date of the 
decree recently issued by the government of Mexico suspending such payment, 
provided that that government will pledge to the United States its faith for the 
reimbursement of the money so to be paid, with six per cent, interest thereon, 
to be secured by a specific lien upon all the public lands and mineral rights in 
the several Mexican States of LoAver California, Chihviahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa, 
the property so pledged to become absolute in the United States at the expira- 
tion of the term of six years from the time when the treaty shall go into effect, 
if such reimbursement shall not have been made before that time. This course 
is rendered necessary by circumstances as new as they are eventful, while the 
j\fexican crisis seems to admit of no delay. The President therefore accepts 
the responsibility, and will submit his action in the premises to the consideration 
of the Senate of the United States, so soon as that body shall be convened, for 
the constitutional sanction, withou.t which the treaty when made would be of no 
effect. ! 

It must be understood, however, that these instructions are conditional upon 
the attainment of consent on the part of the British and French governments to 
forbear from resort to action against Mexico on account of her failure or refusal 
to pay the interest in cjuestion until after the treaty shall have been submitted 
to the Senate, and, if ratified, then so long thereafter as the interest shall be 
punctually paid by the government of the United States. I shall immediately 
instruct our ministers in London and Paris to apply to the British and French 
governments for their consent to the terms thus indicated. You will see at once 
the importance of urging the Mexican government to give its best efforts to the 
support of these applications. 

I am to be understood, moreover, as giving you not specific but general in- 
structions, to be modified as to sums, terms, seciirities, and other points, as you 
may find necessary, subject to approval when made known to me. 

Other matters discussed in your despatch will be treated of in distinct papers, 
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 

Thomas Corwin, Esq., Sj-c, S^-c, ^-c. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 23 

Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 

No. 5.J Legation of the United States op America, 

Mexico, September 7, 1861. 

Sir : I have this moment received your despatch, ISTo. 13, dated 30th July, 
1861, covering an extract from Mr. Dayton's despatch, dated at Paris, July 11, 
1861. 

I have heretofore informed the department that Mr. Pickett, formerly consul 
at Vera Cruz, was here in the character of commissioner from the "Confederate 
States." Mr. Cripps, formerly secretary of legation under General Gadsden, is 
also here, and has resided here ever since General Gadsden's departure from 
Mexico. The latter gentleman is not engaged in the business of Mr. Pickett in 
any other character than that of a friend of the south. 

Mr. Pickett has learned that Mexico has allowed our troops to pass from 
Guaymas to Arizona, and has (unofficially of course) advised the government 
here that this grant to our government will he looked upon as an unfi-iendly act 
towards the south. He alleges that Arizona and Ncav Mexico have placed 
themselves under the protection of the southern States, and that an invasion of 
the northern frontier of Mexico by the southern forces will probably be the re- 
sult. He. states to his acq[uaintances here that Colonel Van Dorn, of Texas, is 
moving towards El Paso with a large foroe, intended to occupy New Mexico 
and Arizona, and that if United States troops should advance through Sonora 
to Arizona war will probably ensue between Mexico and the Confederate States. 
I mentioned this in my last despatch, No. 4, and gave fully all the information 
I had on the subject. Nothing has occurred since to change the opinions then 
expressed. I beg the particular attention of the government to that portion of 
my despatch No. 4. 

The threatened intervention in Mexican affairs by France and England, to 
Avhich I have so often called the attention of the department, seems now to be quite 
certain to occm-. The main pretext urged for this intervention is, the non-pay- 
ment of money due tHe English and French governments, respectively, and to 
their citizens. I have stated in my former despatches that from five to ten. 
millions of dollars would enable the governmefit here to take away this pre- 
text, and at once relieve them from the threatened guardianship of England and 
France. I am*satisfied that om- government would be greatly benefited (not 
only in reference* to the present contest with the southern rebellion, but its per- 
manent advantage in all time to come promoted) by advancing this sum to 
Mexico at once. It would enable the latter to look southern invasion in the 
face without fear, and it would bind her to the north by ties never to be broken. 
I expect, in a day or tAvo, to receive from the minister of foreign relations some 
propositions which will offer an equivalent on the part of Mexico for the 
money they so much need. They would gladly reduce their tariff" on American 
goods ffty per cent, below the charges on other foreign merchandise, say, for 
five or ten years, if this would be accepted. I have supposed such an arrangement 
would be rejected by our government on the same groiinds which prevented the 
ratification of the treaty negotiated by Mr. McLane two years ago. There are 
other objections to this plan. 

First. It might be considered by the English and French governments as 
giving an invidious preference to American trade, and be used as an additional 
reason for intervention here, and it would probably not be considered as show- 
ing the most friendly dispositions, on our part, towards England and France, 
with both of whom I consider it expedient, at this time, to preserve the most 
cordial relations. 

Secondly. Mexico is bound by treaty to trade with both these powers on the 
same terms as those extended to " the most favored nations." If, therefore, 



24 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Euglaud or France, or either, slioulcl propose to Mexico a like equivalent, iu 
proportion to their commerce with this country, she would be compelled to grant 
the same reduction of 50 per cent, on her present tariff to them, and then no 
advantage could accrue to us in this trade, and we should pay the money pro- 
posed without realizing an equivalent for it. This objection might be overcome 
by making the payments annual, and providing that payment should cease 
whenever England or France should obtain the same advantage by treaty with 
Mexico. 

I wish to be informed and instructed whetlier tlie United States would agree 
to pay, in money, to this country, at this time, any sum — say, jive or six to ten 
millions of dollars — on receiving for it stipulations of any kind from Mexico. 

The present government, so far from being in danger of failing at this time 
is, in my judgment, stronger than at any former period of its existence. But 
this remarkwould not be true if European intervention should take place. The 
eftect of such intervention, in my judgment, would be either to overthrow the 
constitulional government and substitute another, which would be merely the 
instrument of the intervening poAvers, or it might result in a dissolution of the 
union — each State, or combination of two or three separate States, setting up for 
themselves. This latter result would be probable in case intervention should 
only extend to the occupation of the maritime frontier and possession of the 
custom-houses. Either result would bring upon us consequences highly preju- 
dicial. European influences, once inaugurated here, would encourage and cor- 
roborate the hopes of the southern rebels, and would aid them in procuring their 
recognition by European powers. It would so weaken Mexico that a very 
inconsiderable southern force could conquer in a very short time four or five 
Mexican States. For the reasons for this opinion I refer to my last despatch, 
No. 4. 

These views, derived from a careful study of Mexican affairs, have ripened 
into convictions in my mind, and hence my extreme anxiety to furnish the pecu- 
niary aid to Mexico, to which I have so often called attention, as this aid would, 
in my judgment, at ouce remove all possibility of the evils which, without such 
aid, must come upon Mexico soon, and, as incidents, must so seriously affect the 
United States. 

Very respectfully, . 

THOMAS COEWIN. 

P. S. — I only learned an hour ago that a courier, hired by merchants, would 
leave at 4 p. m. to-day. I judged it advisable to try this mode of communi- 
cating with "Washington, as I despair of any regular conveyance between 
Mexico and the United States. 

T. C. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State of the United States. 



Mr. Seward to BIr. Convin. 



No. 21.] Department of State, 

Washington, September 23, 1861. 

Sir : I send you a copy of an extract of a comnmnicatiou from the Mexican 

minister in Paris to Mr. Romero, Mexican charge d'affaires at this capital, which 

has been presented to me by the latter gentleman. Sympathizing with him and 

with the Mexican republic iu the present emergency, I earnestly invoke your 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 25 

assiclnous promotion of the negotiation for an assnmption of tlie interest on 
Mexican bonds, committed to jour c'are by my recent instructions, 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Thomas Corwin, Esq., Sfc., Sfc., S^c. 



[Translation. — Extract.] 



No. 44.] Legation of Mexico^ 

Paris, Septemher 4, 1861. 

Unliappily, I yesterday saw realized tlie apprehensions wMcb I mentioned 
to you in my note No. 41, of tbe date of 31st of August last past. Tlie mea- 
sures adopted by tlie governments of France and England, in consequence of 
the law approved on the 17th July, are openly hostile towards us, and I think 
you will be informed about them by the time when this despatch will reach 
your hands. 

You already know, by my note referred to, that I could not obtain the audi- 
ence which I had asked from the minister here for the 21st August, and that 
he fixed it for yesterday, (Tuesday,) 3d September. I began by saying that 
I had received from my government special charge and direction to give to that 
of his Majesty the most ample explanations upon matters which concerned sub- 
jects of France, under the new law, by virtue of which the suspension of pay- 
ment of the national debt was ordered. Mr. de Thouvenel interrupted me, 
saying that personally he had no cause to be discontented with me ; but he 
could not listen to such explanations. " We will not receive any," he added, 
giving way to the greatest excitement ; " we have entirely approved the conduct 
of Mr. de Saligny ; we have given our orders,- in concert with England, that a 
squadron composed of ships of both nations demand from the Mexican govern- 
ment the satisfaction due, and your government will knoAV through our minister 
and our admiral what are the demands of France. I have nothing against you," 
he repeated, "and I wish that events allowed me to address you in more friendly 
terms." " But it is much to be' regretted," said I, in turn, " that such a reply 
should be given to an application so proper and simple as that which- I have 
just made in the name of my government. But equitable as that may be, after 
the language you have addressed to me I should not for a moment urge you to 
listen to me, nor is there any motive for prolonging this conversation ;" and I 
cut it short, withdrawing without delay. 

■jp ^ TP 1 tP ^ ^ ^ 

I reiterate to you the assurances of my most distinguished consideration. 

JUAN ANTONIO DE LA FUENTE. 
The Minister for Foreign Relations, Mexico. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract.] 



No. G.] Legation of the United States, 

Citij of Mexico, ScjJtemhcr 29, 1861. 

Sir : As the mail by the British steamer for this month has not yet arrived, I 
have nothing to communicate further on the subjects pertaiuiug to my duties 
here than is to be found in my previous despatches. 



26 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

The reasons for furnisliing pecuniary assistance to tliis country still remain, 
and are ratlier strengtliened by the expected forcible intervention of both Eng- 
land and France, which seems to be likely to occur now very soon. 

All apology for this intervention would be taken away by an arrangement 
such as I have already repeatedly suggested. 

I have as yet received no instructions from the department on this subject, 
and am, therefore, left only to conjecture as to the views and wishes of the gov- 
ernment of the United States on this point. The subject, in my opinion, is one 
of deep interest to the United States in its present and remote bearing upon the 
future of the American continent. 
- * ** * * * * * * * 

Hon. Wm. H. Seward, 

Secretary/ of State, Washington. 



[Exhibit A, accompanying despatch No. 6 ] 

Unofficial.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, September 4, 1861. 
Sir : Several citizens of the United States during the last week addressed me 
a note requesting my opinion as to the legality of a tax recently levied by the 
President on the inhabitants of the federal district. After consideration care- 
fully given to the subject, I have given them an answer, a copy of which is 
herewith enclosed. I was compelled to the conclusions contained in this paper. 
I earnestly desired to find the government in the right; but after much reflection 
I was obliged to differ from it in this instance. 
I renew the assurances of my esteem. 

THOMAS CORWIN. 
His Elcelleucy Senor Manuel Ma. de Zamacona, 

Minister of Foreign Relations. 



[Exhibit A 2, accompanying despatch No. 6.] 

Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, August 30, 1861. 

Gentlemen : I received your note of the 26th instant on the 27th, asking 
my opinion as to the legality of a tax of one per cent, on the property of all 
persons residing in the federal district, where the property of such persons 
amounts to a sum exceeding two thousand dollars. As the mail for the United 
States was to leave this city on the 29th, I found myself, from the time L re- 
ceived your note until yesterday at two o'clock in the afternoon, occupied 
incessantly with other indispeiisable duties. You will accept this as my apology 
for delaying an answer to your request till now. 

The only question which I think it is useful to consider, when determining 
the duty to pay this tax, may be stated thus : "Is the tax in question imposed 
by that power to which the constitution and laws of Mexico have given the Tight 
to^levy taxes?" If this question, by a fair and liberal construction of the 
constitution, can be answered affirmatively, then it is a lawful tax, and in my 
judgment should be paid, unless other objections, which in this instance do not 
occur to my mind, should forbid its payment. 

The powers and duties of the present government of Mexico are (happily in 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 27 

my judgment) defined and limited by a written constitution. Every functionary 
of tliis government, whether executive, legislative, or judicial, before be enters 
upon tbe duties of bis office, binds himself, by a solemn oath, to maintain and 
support the constitution. In other words, he swears that he will exert the 
powers and discharge the duties of his office in confoi-mity with those rules 
which are laid down in and by the constitn.tion. 

In the 50th article of the constitution now in force, it is decla,red that " the 
supreme power of the federation is divided, for its exercise, into legislative, 
executive, and judicial. Two or more of these powers can never be united in 
the same person, nor the legislative power be deposited in one individual." 

It wiU be seen that the various functions necessary to carry on this govern- 
ment are divided into three separate departments. It is expressly declared 
that the powers of no two of these departments shall ever be united in the 
same person. Article 72, section 7, defines the powers and duties which are 
imposed upon congress, or the legislative department, as to taxes. It declares 
that " congress has the power of approving the federal estimates of expendi- 
tures, which shall be annually presented by the executive, and of imposing 
the taxes necessary therefor." 

The power to levy taxes upon the people is here (in language which admits 
of no equivocation in its terms) given expressly to congress. No clause iir the 
constitution gives congress the power to transfer this duty to any other person 
or to any. other department of the government. It is a discretion very liable to 
abuse, and, Avhen abused, attended with consequences fatal to the rights as well 
as prosperity of the people. It is therefore a power which, in all governments, 
free in form and design, is wisely lodged only in the hands of those who directly 
represent the people, and who, more than any other department of the govern- 
ment, are responsible to the people. 

Wherever the legislative power is elected by the people, the taxing power is 
given to that department. The present constitution of Mexico, as we have 
seen, has embodied these principles. In this respect it is in harmony with all 
modern systems of government, where written constitutions prevail on this con- 
tinent. This trust cannot be delegated to any one, unless such power is given 
in express terms, which- power, as we know, is nowhere to be found in the con- 
stitution. 

But another question may arise. Has congress, by any law, either intended 
0* pretended to transfer this power! It may be said, and no doubt the presi- 
dent supposed and believed, that this power was delegated by congress to him. 
I have endeavored to bring my mind, if possible, to agree with this opinion, for 
I did wish, in the present condition of this republic, to aid rather than oppose 
the government in raising money to enable it to crush anarchy and restore 
peace, security, and order. But I am compelled to come to a different conclu- 
sion by reasons Avhich appear to me unansAverable. 

First. The law whence this power is said to be derived does not give the 
power when its language is properly construed, whatever may have been the 
unexpressed intentions of those who enacted it. The law in question was 
enacted on the 4th day of June, 1861. It reads in these words : " The gov- 
ernment is empowered to raise funds in whatever way it may deem proper for 
the purpose of destroying the reaction." 

The wisest judges, when acting upon subjects like this, have adopted a canon 
of construction which requires that if you can give effect to a law, under a con- 
stitution, you shall (if its words will admit of it) so construe it as not to make 
it violate the constitution. The laAv in question authorizes and reqiiires the 
president to raise money in any way he may or can, to crush the rcaccionarios. 
Can the president raise money, by virtue of his executive power, in other ways 
than by taxation ? Undoubtedly he can. By the 72d article, section 8, in the 
constitution, he can, as president, raise money by loans. Said section declares 



28 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

that congress has the power " of giA'ing the basis upon which the executive 
may procure loans on the faith of the national credit, and of approving said 
loans, and of recogiiizing and ordering the payment of the national debt." 

In conformity to the rule above stated, we must presume that congress did 
intend to authorize the president to loan money; for this they might do, and yet 
not violate the constitution; and that they did not intend, and have not given 
the power" to tax ; for this they could not do, as the constitution expressly forbids 
it. The law' must be so construed as to make congress inteud to gi^'e the 
president only such power as by the constitution they could give. The power 
to loan money they could give. The power to tax they could not give. The 
words "to raise money in any way he may or can," only mean "in any way he, 
as president, constitutionally can." 

Second. But if Ave admit (which I do not) that the words of the law do give, 
in express terms, the power to tax, then I reply that such a law is totally void, 
as it is clear that congress has no power to give such authority. The consti- 
tution gives the taxing power to congress. It therefore denies such poAver to 
the executive. It is expressly declared that the powers of no tAvo of the three 
departments — that is, the executive, legislative, and judicial — shall ever be united 
in any one. If the President is allowed to exert the taxing power, that being 
by the constitution a poArer given to the legislative only, then it foUoAvs that 
legislatiA^e and executive powers are tmited in one, which, as we haA'c seen, is 
expressly forbidden by the constitution, in plain terms. The imposition of this 
tax is, in my judgment, a A^oid and nugatory act, and therefore no person, either 
Mexican citizen or foreigner, is bound hy late to pay it. 

I may here add that, in my opinion, CA'-ery American citizen resident in Mex- 
ico, is bound to pay every tax which any Mexican citizen is bound to pay. 

The laAv of nations permits every independent government to legislate touching 
the property of foreigners as well as citizens within its territorial limits. One 
of the most accurate and learned treatises, in modern times, on national law, has 
thus defined this power : "EA^ery independent State is entitled to the exclusive 
poAA^er of legislation in respect to the personal rights and civil state and con- 
dition of its citizens, arid in respect to all real and 2>ersonal j^'operty situated 
within its territory., whether belonging to citizens or aliens.'" — (See Wheaton's 
International LaAv, page 112, part 2, chapter 2, section 1.) 

The legislative power here giA^en over the property of foreigners has always 
been ' considered as including the poAver to tax the property of foreigners, ^t 
has been the constant practice of the United States government, as Avell as the 
gOA-ernments of the separate States, to tax the property of foreigners just as 
they tax the property of citizens. This poAver may, hoAA^ever, be limited by 
treaty. The only treaty stipulation on this subject between the United States 
and Mexico is to be found in the 9th article of the treaty of 1831, AA'-hich is 
now in full force, that treaty having been revived by the treaty of 1848. That 
article reads as folloAvs : "The citizens of both countries, respectiA'ely, shall be 
exempt from compidsory serA^ice in the army or naA'y ; 7ior shall they he sub- 
jected to any other charges, or contrihutiom, or taxes than such as are paid by 
the citizens of the States in Avhich they reside." 

This treaty, in my judgment, obliges citizens -of Mexico, resident in the 
United States, to pay in the United States " all charges, or contrihutimis, or 
taxes'' which are paid there by the citizens of the United States, and as clearly 
binds all citizens of the United States, resident in Mexico, to pay all " charges, 
or contrihutiotis, or taxes" which are paid here' by the citizens of J^Iexico. If, 
therefore, a Mexican citizen is bound by law to pay this tax, then, by the 
treaty of 1831, the American citizen, resident here, is bound to pay it also. 

The treaty makes no distinction betAveen ordinary and extraordinary taxes — : 
between local or general taxes. I haA^e no doubt that at this moment taxes 
that may well be termed " extraordinary" are levied, both by the federal and 



THE PRESENT COXDITION OF MEXICO. 29 

State governments, in tlie United States, wliicli operate alike ilpon the property 
of the citizens of the United States and Mexicans resident there. But it is not 
now necessary to consider this point, as, according to the foregoing reasoning, 
neither Mexican citizens nor foreigners can be laicfully required to pay this tax, 
I wish here, to add, that it is with great rehictance that I am compelled to 
differ from the Mexican authorities in a point of so much delicacy and import- 
ance. I have no doubt biit the government has been actuated by the most 
patriotic motives. Still, I cannot but hope that, in a moment free from the 
violent excitements which prevail here, and under the influence of which this 
act has been done, its unbiased judgment will be brought to concur in the 
general reasons on which I have founded the opinion here expressed. 
I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 



THOMAS CORWIK 



Messrs. Bennett, Lara, and others. 



[Translation.] 

Xational Palace, Septemher 5, 1861. 

The undersigned has had the honor to receive the note which his excellency 
the minister of the United States has pleased to send to him, together with a 
copy of a communication addressed by him to some of his countrj^men, resident 
in Mexico, in relation to the impost decreed on the 27tli August last past. The 
undersigned intends to siibmit this note, and the document which accompanies 
it, to the president of the republic, and meantime may communicate to the 
minister of the United States the conclusions of the chief magistrate of the 
nation. He has the honor to express to him his satisfaction with the frank and 
impartial spirit which manifests itself in the said note, which the undersigned 
appreciates, notwithstanding the difference there may be between the opinions 
of his excellency the mmister of the United States, and those which the govern- 
ment maintains as to the legality of the impost decreed on the 27th of August. 

The undersigned does himself honor in repeating to Mr. Corwin the assur- 
ances of his consideration. 

MANUEL MA. DE ZAMACONA. 

His Excellency Thomas Corwin, 

Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States. 



Mr. Seicard to Mr. Corwin. 



No. 23.^ Department of State, 

WasJdngton, October 2, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatch of September 7 (No. 5) has been received. 

The attention of this government has been already arrested by the threats of 
the uisurgeuts of this country to invade the northern frontier of Mexico ; but 
at present it seems wisest to oppose to them the necessary resistance nearer 
home. 

You ask, with marked earnestness, whether the United States would agree to 
pay in money to ^Mexico at this time any sum, say from five millions to ten 
millions of dollars, on receiving for it any kind of stipulation that the republic 
of Mexico might offer ] 

I feel myself authorized to assure jow tliat the President is as deeply sensible 
as you yourr'elf confessedly are of the importance of maintaining the integrity 
and independence of Mexico. He is prepared to adopt the best practicable 



30 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

means to compas& that end, so important to tlie welfare, perhaps to the security, 
of the United States and to the success of civilization in this country. But it 
seems to him that a payment or advance to Mexico of siich a sum as you sug- 
gest is at this time impossible, even if it would be wise, which is a c[uestion that 
I do not now propose to discuss. 

We are now necessarily paying out of the treasury near a million a day, ren- 
dered necessary for the organization, all of a sudden, of a great army and a 
considerable navy. We could not hope to satisfy the country that it would be 
expedient to send five or ten millions of money into Mexico until our own mili- 
tary and naval preparations shall have been perfected and wo shall begin to see 
the insurrectionary movement distinctly recoil or subside. 

Again, the proposition to advance all at once to Mexico so large a sum of 
money, under the circvxmstances I have mentioned, would, we apprehend, en- 
counter serious opposition in the Senate of the United States, upon the ground 
not merely of the .present inexpediency in regard to our own country, but also 
on the further ground of probable improvidence on the part of the Mexican 
government in applying the subsidy. 

You suggest, as one of the means by which Mexico might indemnify the 
United States for any moneys to be advanced by them, an accommodation of 
the revenue tariff of Mexico, so as to favor our manufactures. 

I should not feel myself at liberty to discuss a proposition of that kind at 
this time. The Congress of the United States, and even the people themselves, 
are justly jealous of executive attempts to disturb or modify our revenue sys- 
tem at home or to enter into engagements with foreign countries which may 
have a bearing upoil the export trade of our country. If it should be thought 
wise to institute negotiations of either kind, it would be best to asl^ the Senate 
for its advice in the first instance, and not to negotiate a treaty first and after- 
Avards ask the Senate for its ratification. 

I am constrained to say that your- first proposition on this subject seems to 
me the most feasible and expedient one, namely, that the United States shall 
assume the payment of interest for Mexico for a term of years upon a pledge 
of sufficient Mexican mineral lands and territory. On this subject I see no 
reason to modify the instructions which I have already given. 

We hear indirectly and believe that Spain has proposed to enter into an 
arrangement with France and Great Britain for sending an armed expedition to 
Mexico. Acting upon public rumor, to this effect, we have asked the powers 
concerned to explain the objects of the contemplated expedition. 

Thus far, we have no reply, either from Mexico or from Great Britain or from 
France, to our overtures for an assumption of the interest on Mexican bonds. 
Such replies, however, must soon be received. When they shall have come I 
shall be able to Avrite to you more definitely, and I trust more satisfactorily, 
than I can write now, when the complication of Mexican affairs is understood 
only on one side, and Mdien we are acting upon conjecture as to the extent of 
hostilities meditated by the states which claim to have been mjured by the gov- 
ernmeiit of Mexico. 

.1 am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD 

Thomas Corwin, Esq., Sfc., ^c, Sfc. 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 31 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin. 

[Confidential.] 

No. 28.] ■ Department of State, 

Washington, October 21, 1861. 
Sir : I send you a copy of a despatcli just received from Mr. ScLurz. You 
will see, without any effort at elucidation upon my part, tlie importance of his 
suggestion that the Mexican people shall not be induced to become betrayers of 
their ovm independence. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
Thomas Corwin, Esq., Sfc., 8fc., Sfc. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 



No. 7.] ^ Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, October 21, 1861. 

Sir: Your despatches Nos. 17, 18, and 19, under date of the 2d, 7th, and 
12th of September, were received on the 10th instant from Mr. Otterbourg, the 
lately-appointed consul at this city. I find, on examination, that your despatches 
Nos. 14, 15, and 16 have never reached me. They are doubtless in the hands 
of the "secessionists," or the robbers who infest the mail routes to this country 
on both sea and land. I shall be gratified could copies of these last despatches 
be forwarded immediately; they may possibly escape the evil fortunes of the 
originals. Your despatch No. 8, dated June 3, was delivered to me on the 23d 
instant by Mr. George Ingraham, to whom the department had intrusted it. 
Mr. Ingraham's vessel was ninety days in making the voyage from Bangor, 
Motic, to Vera Cruz. 

I beg here to repeat the reasons which have induced me heretofore to urge 
the absolute necessity of having the consuls appointed by the present adminis- 
tration to Vera Cruz and Havana at their j)Osts in person. The vice-consul at 
Havana served several years under Mr. Helm, who, I believe, is now a "seces- 
sionist." Mr. Rich en, vice-consul at Vera Cruz, served three or four years 
at that place under Mr. Pickett, who is now here, and who, I have reason to 
believe receives his letters from New Orleans and elscAvhere through Mr. Riehen, 
who sends them from Vera Cruz to this place. Of this latter fact I cannot be 
certain, but I have strong reasons for suspecting its, truth. Both these vice- 
consuls viay be very faithful to the government, but the facts relating to their 
former associations seem to me to constitute sufficient cause for the supervision 
of those who are known to be faithful, and whose du.ty it is in these critical 
times to be at the ports assigned them. It is possible the lost despatches, to 
which I have referred, may have fallen into treacherous hands. I alluded, in 
my last despatch, to the necessity of having a consul of high qualifications at 
Matamoras, on the Rio Grande. It is highly important that the government 
should be in possession of the earliest and most reliable information of the move- 
ments of the rebels in that quarter. It is on that frontier that the first attack 
(if ind(;od any is ever made) wifl be made by the rebel forces upon Mexico. 
Mr. Pickett throws out (as I leam) threats of such a movement soon to be made, 
and sometimes, as now in the course of execution, as a measure of retaliation 
upon Mexico for granting to the United States the privilege of marching troops 
from Guaymas to Arizona. He has actually proposed to recede to Mexico, 



32 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Upper California and New Mexico, iucluding Arizona, on condition of free trade 
between Mexico and the " Confederate States." He lias ru-iiislied an opposi- 
tion member of congress here with a copy of his letter to tlu- Mexican secretary 
of state, who read it in secret session, as the grounds of a violent attack on the 
administration, bestowing great abuse iipon President Juarez and his cabinet for 
rejecting both Mr. Pickett and his proposition. The opposition orator was merely 
laughed at, and not complimented even by a reply. This I learned from one 
who was present, and deeply interested in the subject. 

Mr. Pickett has very formally advised the government here that the Con- 
federate States cannot consent to the sale or hypothecation of the public lands of 
Mexico to any government not in amity with them. 

The object of these informal communications is to prevent any treaty arrange- 
ment by Mexico with either the United States or England or France which 
would relieve Mexico from her embarrassments, and so insure a hostile inter- 
ference from abroad, which Avould so weaken the Mexican government as to 
render the northern states of Mexico an easy prey to filibusters acting in har- 
mony with the rebel troops. 

The motives of the secessionists, being thus clearly disclosed, present at once 
to both .the United States government and that of Mexico the obvious policy of 
strengthening Mexico by an advance of money to her, to enable hej to fight the 
common enemy of both. The public lands of the entire Mexican republic, 

mortgaged to the United States, as proposed in your dispatch No. , will 

constitute a justifiable reason for our meeting the rebel forces on our own lands 
in Mexico, where we could unite the troops of both republics against them, and 
thus draw off their military strength from Texas, so as to enable the Union 
party of that State and Ncav Mexico to re-establish in both the legitimate gov- 
ernment of the United States. I mention these as incidental advantages growing 
out of the proposed treaty, which may be worth consideration. 

In your last despatch I am instructed to enter into an arrangement to pay the 
interest on the foreign debt of this republic for five years. You estimate this 
debt at sixty-three millions of dollars. This sum is exactly the principal of the 
debt due to what are called " English bond-holders." In addition to this tl|bre 
is what is called the " English convention debt," five millions of dollars ; the 
" Spanish convention debt," eight millions of dollars ; and the " French conven- 
tion debt," the exact amount of which I do not know; but it is small, and will 
be arranged without difficulty, or be paid off out of other funds. 

The interest, therefore, on the foreign debt, which must be provided for, to 
avoid threatened hostility, is as follows : 

"Bondholders' " claim $63, 000, 000 

At three per cent, per annum $1, 890, 000 

" English convention debt " 5, 000, 000 

At six per cent, per annUm 300, 000 

" Spanish convention debt " 8, 000, 000 

At three per cent, per annum. .'. 240, 000 



Total amount of interest on foreign debt 2, 430, 000 



In your instructions you say : " I am to be understood, moreover, as giving 
you not specific but general instructions, to be modified as to sums, terms, secu- 
rities, and other points, as you may find necessary — subject to approval by me." 

The British minister here, having been informed by Lord Lyons of the sub- 
stance of your instructions to me, immediately -proposed that the duties on 
foreign merchandise, heretofore assigned to foreign creditors, should be collected 
and paid as agreed upon, and that an ec[uivalent amount received from the 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 33 

United States wotild place the government of Mexico beyond tlie necessity of 
suspending this agreement, whicli suspension had compelled the British govern- 
ment to resort to forcible intervention. In a conference with the British minister 
and the Mexican authorities this plan was thought advisable, and, acting within 
the spirit of my instructions, I have offered the following terms to Mexico, to 
which the Mexican cabinet has assented. 

I propose to loan to Mexico five millions of dollars for five years, at six per 
cent, per annum, to be paid in monthly payments of five hundred thousand dol- 
lars — the first payment to be made in one month after the ratification of the 
treaty by the United States — and to loan at the same rate for five years the sum 
of $2,000,000 each year for three years, making an aggregate of eleven millions 
of dollars ($11,000,000) in all; Mexico to file her bonds corresponding to the 
above payments before the receipt of the money. 

If the sum to be paid by the United States had been limited to interest at 3 
per cent, on $63,000,000 — which was your estimate of the amount — for five years, 
the aggregate debt would have been nine millions four hundred and fifty. thou- 
sand dollars, ($9,450,000,) secured by bonds pledging the publiclands in Lower 
California, Chihuahua, Souora, and Sinaloa. By the modification which I pro- 
pose, the aggregate debt will be eleven millions of dollars, secured by pledge of 
the public faith, and also the entire public lands of the republic, and all the 
national property formerly belonging to the church. The latter, though not 
exactly ascertained, is, at the lowest estimate, equal t0\ one hundred millions, 
($100,000,000.) In the States of Puebla and Mexico alone the amount not 
restored is known to be worth twenty-seven millions of dollars. This value 
consists, in the two States mentioned, in bonds and mortgages taken from 
purchasers who had bought the church property at a rate so very low that none 
will risk a forfeiture by non-payment, and all will be due in five years, the pay- 
ments being annual. It is agreed that a board of five persons shall be appointed, 
to sit in the city of Mexico — three to be appointed by the President of Iilexico, 
and two by the President of the United States — who shall have all the powers 
of the government to survey and sell the public lands, and grant mineral rights, 
and to collect the amounts due on church property, and sell what is not disposed 
of, and keep the funds thus derived separate from the general treasury, and 
transmit them to the treasury of the United States, at the risk and expense of 
Mexico, as often as half a million shall be realized. By this arrangement, I have 
no doubt, the interest due on the proposed $11,000,000 will be punctually paid 
after the first year, and interest and principal fully paid in the five years. The 
amount to be paid Mexico by this plan is only increased $1,550,000, while the 
securities for payment are such as to render the United States government per- 
fectly secure, and in all probability we shall secure a large portion of the money 
from Mexico before we have paid it out to her, and be able to close the whole 
within five years. 

I know that the British minister has written to the foreign office in London, 
by this mail, that his arrangement, when ratified by congress, will be eveiy 
thing the British government can ask. The French government will be satisfied 
by arrangements in progress here, and in any event the money to be j)aid by 
the United States will be in part pledged to the payment of the interest on the 
Spanish and French debts, which cannot exceed $150,000 per annum. I am 
fully satisfied that the amoimt proposed to be paid by the above plan is abso- 
lutely necessary to keep the present government on foot for the next three 
years, and, if any thing can, that will enable the Mexican republic tb exist un- 
der some form of government limited by written constitution. Both the British 
and American treaties will be submitted to congress here in all of the next two 
weeks for ratification. 

I hope you will approve my course. The absolute necessity for despatch 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 3 



34 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

prevents me from sending you tlie proposed modifications before acting on tliem 
here ; but I liave sLown the minister of foreign relations my instructions, and 
advised him that no obligation can be relied on by him till your approval and 
that of the Senate is obtained. 

I have already asked leave to visit home. If the proposed treaty is ratified 
here, nothing of importance can possibly demand my actual presence here for a 
month or two, and I therefore renew my request to visit my home and family. 
Very respectfully, 

THOMAS COKWIK 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C, U. S. of America. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin. 



No. 29.] Department of State, 

Washington, Novemher 11, 1861. 

Sir: Your despatch of September 29, which bears no number, has been 
received. 

I notice with regret that important communications from me on the subject of 
Mexican relations with European nations had failed to reach you before your 
despatch was written. Owing to this circumstance, it would be improfitable to 
reply to your suggestions on that subject. 

I am not altogether satisfied that you judged wisely, under the circumstances, 
in the coiirse you pursued in regard to the claims of American citizens to ex- 
emption from the taxes imposed by the 'government of Mexico. It is our desire, 
we know it is yours, to see the government of Mexico sustain itself in the crisis 
through which it is passing. Citizens of the United States residing in Mexico 
ought to bear their proportion of the burdens necessary to the maintenance of 
the government whose protection they enjoy. The question of the lawfulness 
of the tax does out arise out of any rights peculiar to themselves, but out of 
right common to them with all the citizens of the republic of Mexico. It seems 
to me that Americans, under such circumstances, might well be left to abide the 
decisions of the Mexican tribunals in the same manner as Mexican themselves 
must do. But I write with much hesitation on the subject and await further 
developments of it. 

I am, sir, yoiu* obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, 
By F. W. SEWARD, 

Acting Secretary. 

Thomas Corwin, Sfc, S^c, S^. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 



No. 8.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, Novemher 29, 1861. 

Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt, since my last communication of the 
29th of October, of the missing despatches Nos. 14 and 15, and also of your 
other despatches from No. 20 to No. 28, (of October 28,) inclusive. Despatch 
No. 16 has not been received by me. Since my last despatch (No. 7) Mexican 
affairs have assumed a very unfavorable aspect. Sii- Charles Wyke, the British 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 35 

minister, having arranged with Mr. Zamacona, the minister of foreign affairs of 
the republic of Mexico, a treaty on the basis mentioned in my communication 
to yon, and which I considered very favorable to Mexico, and this treaty having 
been submitted to congress, and rejected by a vote of almost two to one, I have 
withdrawn my propositions for a loan from the United States, understanding 
from your instructions that this loan was to be made merely with a view to pre- 
vent European intervention in the affairs of Mexico. As this treaty has been 
rejected, I have good reason to believe that England will take possession of the 
ports of Mexico, with the intention of paying the debt^^i due to her citizens. 
The fleets of France and Spain, I have no doubt, will co-operate with that of 
England. What the views of France may be I cannot say. I agree, however, 
entirely with Mr. Schurz that it is the desire of Spain to regain her dominion 
over this country, and to establish here a monarchy. Whether the other powers 
referred to will consent to this you can judge better than I. 

In accordance with the instructions contained in your first despatch on this 
subject, I made an arrangement with the government of Mexico for a loan of 
five millions of dollars, payable in monthly instalments of one half million per 
month, and secured by the pledge of all the public lands, mineral rights, and 
church property. In addition to this I agi-eed, on behalf of the United States, 
to make a further loan of four millions of dollars, (making in all nine millions 
of dollars,) to be paid in sums of one half million every six months, and to be 
secured in like manner as the five millions. Since the rejection of the English 
treaty I have not felt at liberty to complete this arrangement, and shall await 
further instructions. Should the three European powers referred to take posses- 
sion of the Mexican ports, and then offer to relinquish all claims upon this 
country in consideration of the payment of the interest upon their debts, and 
the securing of the payment of the principal, I shall feel at liberty to renew my 
propositions unless otherwise instructed. 

It Avill be seen that the treaty now proposed reduces the loan from the sum 
proposed in my last advices from eleven to nine millions. I transmit herewith 
a coj)y of the treaty as drawn by myself and submitted to the cabinet here. I 
have no doubt it will be ratified here if I shall hereafter be authorized to pro- 
pose it. On this point I ask the favor of instructions as early as possible. 

I entertain a confident belief that when the English, French, and Spanish 
fleets shall arrive at Vera Cruz, and demand and obtain possession of the Mexi- 
can ports on the Gulf as well as Pacific frontier, that Mexico will enter into 
treaties with all these nations, such as was proposed by the lately rejected British 
treaty. Her national pride is so great that nothing but actual demonstration of 
her weakness will subdue it. 

From the best judgment I can form as to coming events here, I am inclined 
to the belief that England will unite in taking possession of the ports and ap- 
propriate the proceeds of the custom-houses in some way to the payment of the 
just claims of the three nations, but will not agree to any intervention in the 
internal concerns of the republic. I think Spain will desire to seize the entire 
government of Mexico, and re-establish her power here. If France concurs in 
this, they can accomplish it. If it is attempted by Sj)ain alone, it will ulti- 
mately fail. The hatred of the Spanish race is extreme here, and has been so 
since 1820. The conflict Avith the church, which has raged for the last three 
years, has intensified this feeling greatly. 

I think the obvious folly of rejecting the British treaty will be corrected by 
the events of the coming month, at least, in the realization of this hope consists 
the only peaceful solution of the questions which threaten the destruction of 
Mexican independence. 

I send lierewith copies of the late proceedings of a portion of the diplomatic 
corps here, in their attempt, by the tender of their good ofiices, to reconcile the 
differences between France and Mexico. It wiU be seen that the French ulti- 



36 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

matum required tlie Mexican government to admit French intervention in the 
Mexican ports, with power to reduce the Mexican tariflf. The organic structure 
of the Mexican government does not admit the delegation of such power ; and 
as far as I coukl learn from the Mexican secretary for foreign affairs this was 
the main objection to his unqualified acceptance of the ultimatum. I endeavored 
to induce the minister of foreign affairs to give his unqualified acceptance, being 
satisfied that in any arrangement which would folloAV the French minister 
would not insist upon a demand of that kind. The fear of being charged with 
bad faith prevailed over my suggestions, however, and our efforts ended as the 
papers I send will show. 

The government is now making great efforts to embody fifteen thousand men 
at Vera Cruz to mett the Spanish troops, should they attempt to land. 

The British minister, Sir Charles Lennox Wyke, has, in my judgment, con- 
ducted himself here with great prudence, good sense, and perfect equity. He 
has sought to accomplish the object of his mission withovit resort to force, and 
his treaty was in all respects equitable and just towards both nations, but the 
overweening pride of the Mexican congress, not to say folly, in rejecting that 
treaty has subjected Mexico to the hazard of finding an enemy instead of an 
ally in Great Britain. 

I have been confined to my bed for several days by a violent cold, and was 
only permitted by my physician to leave it this morning. This I tnist may be 
received by the department as some apology for the want of more extended 
details in this despatch. This will leave in two hours by the British courier 
extraordinary, and be sent by the British steamer to Havana. By the obliging 
courtesy of the British minister, I am enabled to avail myself of this, the only 
safe medium of communication with the coast; all other mails are sacked and 
robbed of all their valuable contents by the numerous bands of robbers that 
infest the roads in all directions. 

I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

THOMAS CORWIN. 

Hon. "Wm. H. Seward, 

Secretary of State of the United States of America. 



Mr. Seward to Mr-. Cor win. 



No. 32.] Department of State, 

Washington, Decemher 5, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatch of October 29, No. 7, has been received and submitted to the 
President. 

I have delayed replying to it some days for the reason that I hourly expected 
the answers of the British, French and Spanish governments to our proi^ositions 
concerning war. These have come at last in the form of the convention mu- 
tually concluded by them for hostilities against Mexico, with an invitation to ua 
to join in the convention. I send you a copy of it, together with my reply to 
that communication. 

I infer from your despatch that you will have signed a treaty with the govern- 
ment of Mexico before this time, and without waiting for new or further instruc- 
tions. I am hoping every day to receive that convention, and though I have 
only a very imperfect knoAvledge of the stipulations which it will contain, I 
willingly hope and am ready to believe that it may find speedy favor wath the 
President and the Senate. 

The President thinks that you cannot properly leave Mexico while the hos- 
tilities against the repi;blic are going on, and that your presence there will be 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 37 

needful for counsel and possible negotiation between ourselves and tlie belligerent 
parties. 

You may look for an immediate response from us, witb important despatches, 
by special messenger, after tbe expected treaty shall be sent to us. Meantime, 
there seems to be nothing important to be communicated beyond what this paper 
and the accompanying documents contain. 

Some comparatively unimportant matters contained in your despatch will be 
entertained in a separate paper. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. . 

Thomas Oorwin, Esq., ^v., S^c., ^. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 



No. 10.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, December 24, 1861. 

Sir : I have deemed it necessary to appoint Mr. Plumb a special bearer of 
despatches at this time. He will take with him an extradition and postal treaty, 
which I was not sure could reach the United States by any other mode of con- 
veyance. The present position of England and Mexico renders it entirely un- 
certain whether any mail, except that of the English legation, will be allowed to 
go on the English steamer, which is at present the only possible means of com- 
munication between Vera Cruz and Havana, at which latter place my corres- 
pondence is taken up and delivered in New York by the American steamers, 
which come and go to and from Havana twice a month. 

I have heretofore presented to the department the difficulty of communicating 
with the United States by conveyances so precarious and tedious as those now 
at command. If the British mail steamer, which is available only once a 
month, should be withdrawn, or communication through her be prohibited by 
the government of Mexico, then I know of no practicable mode of commtmication 
between this country and the United States at all, unless a mail can be secured 
from this city to Acapulco, from which last point letters could be taken twice a 
month to Panama. I have been laboring for the last week to unite with the 
merchants of this city to subscribe a sufficient sum which, with a small monthly 
subscription by the American legation, would enable us to employ a safe courier, 
who would go twice a month to Acapulco and back to this place. I am in- 
foimed by the government here that if such arrangement should be made, it 
would endeavor, by every means at its command, to render the route safe from 
the robber bands which have heretofore infested the roads in all directions. I 
do not think this plan will be carried out without a subscription on my part of 
at least fifty dollars per month. I must be guided by particular instructions on 
this point. 

If a vessel of the United States, armed, could be employed by our govern- 
ment to carry the mail once or twice a month between Vera Cruz and Havana, 
the necessity for establishing a route from this city to Acapialco would cease. 

Additional reasons for employing Mr. Plumb as bearer of despatches at this 
time will appear in my despatch, No. 11, of this date. If I can find it possible 
to send despatches through the British courier from this place to Vera Cruz, 
and from thence to Havana by the British steamer, I shall duplicate all the 
papers sent by Mr. Plumb, and send them by that route, so that the infonnation 
which tliey co)itain may be certain to reach the department. 
Very respectfully, 

THOS. CORWm. 

Hon. Wm. H. Seward, 

Secretary of State of the United States, Washington. 



38 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 

IsTo. 11.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, December 24, 18G1. 

Sir : Since the date of my despatcli No. 8 the event Las happened which I 
have expected for the last seven months. The Spanish fleet has arrived at Vera 
Cruz and taken possession of that citj without firing a single gun. The Mexi- 
can population has all been ordered by the government to leave the city, and 
we hear that all, or nearly all, have obeyed the order. The castle of St. John 
de U Ilea has been entirely disarmed and the guns taken up to the difficult passes 
in the mountains, and there mounted, preparatory to the defence of those places 
should Spanish or allied troops attempt a march upon this city. From fifteen 
to twenty thousand troops, now under command of General Uraga, are stationed 
at these points, with orders to resist to the last. 

By reading carefully the correspondence of the Spanish commander with the 
Mexican authorities, you will perceive that no positive declaration of war has 
been made by Spain, either for herself or in the name of France or England. 
The French and English legations here both left Mexico, and are now at Vera 
Cruz. I was told by the British minister when he left that he should repair to 
Jamaica, at which point he expected further instructions applicable to the 
present state of affairs. I have seen it stated in the European papers that a 
consultation of the three powers was to take place at Jamaica before any de- 
cided move would be made upon Mexico. The statement of the British minister, 
as above, confirmed me in the truth of that made by the European press. If I 
am right in this, then it follows that the advance of Spain upon Vera Cruz has 
been made without the consent of France or England, and this is to be inferred 
from the fact that neither the French nor English fleet has yet been heard of in 
the Gulf I am quite' sure that the British minister here was surprised when he 
heard of the arrival of the Spanish fleet alone. 

Ton will observe that the Spanish commander does not wish to be understood 
as making war on Mexico, but rather holds out the idea that he comes to collect 
a dehi, and has seized Vera Cruz as part of the estate of the debtor, and holds it 
as a pledge, or by virtue of an attachment. The words prenda pretoria, which 
he has borrowed from the " Civil Law," mean, I believe, when translated into 
our law language, property held in pledge hy a court to answer to the judgment 
to be rendered in a pending cause. Whether such a writ, served in such a way, 
by such an officer, may be a " casus helli" or not, may be a question for diplo- 
matic investigation and decision. Hence you will see that President Juarez in 
his proclamation does not consider the act of the Spanish commander .as a 
declaration of war, and contents himself with saying " he will resist force by 
force," if it should turn out that Spain under its financial claims covers ag- 
gressive designs upon Mexico. 

After carefully considering all the facts within my knowledge which tend to 
throw light upon the real designs of the three powers, I incline to the belief that 
Spain secretly entertains a wish to prevent a peaceful adjustment between 
Mexico and either of the three powers, and that France and England, especially 
the latter, only intend to extort from Mexico treaties confonnable to their ideas 
of justice. Spain desires, by war between Mexico and all the three, to effect 
the reconquest of her lost American colonies. France, as she thinks, would be 
^^'illiug to aid her in this. England, she has reason to believe, would never 
agree to the establishment of a vice-regal power here, unless upon such con- 
ditions as would take away all motives which prompt Spain to such a course. 
These are only my own inferences from the few facts which I have been able to 
learn here. The government of the United States, having a more enlarged 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 39 

knowledge of facts and a higher stand point from which to survey the whole 
field of probabilities, will be able to form its own better conclusions on the 
subject. 

Mr. Plumb, the bearer of this despatch, will pass through Vera Cruz, and be 
able to learn much of the state of things there which is unknown at this moment 
to me. I suggest that you. have an interview with him. He will be able to 
explain to you fully the difficulties likely to arise out of the present state of 
things touching the communications between this country and the United 
States. I have been told by M. de Saligny (the French minister) that the 
United States had been req^uested by France to join the three powers in their 
present movement. I desire very much to know whether this has been done, 
and what answer our government gave to this request. If, as I think probable, 
this intervention shall end in treaties with Spain, France, and England, giving 
away a large portion of the revenue of this government to satisfy the claims of 
interest due on the foreign debt of Mexico, it will be important that I should 
know whether I will be at liberty to contract by treaty to loan Mexico the 
amounts, more or less, named in your previous instructions, with such guarantees 
of repayment as those contained in the projet I sent with my despatch No. 8. 
Such a loan will be absolutely necessary to the very existence of government 
and law in Mexico, should they treat mth all the three powers on a basis simi- 
lar to that adopted in the treaty with Great Britain recently — I wiU add, madly 
rejected by the Mexican congress. The present cabinet has full power to sign 
and ratify treaties, and I know each member of it is determined on a peaceful 
adjustment of all their difficulties with all the European powers, if it can be 
accomplished by any arrangement approaching to justice. I beg immediate in- 
structions on this point. 

I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

THOMAS CORWIN. 

P. S. — ^At this time every republic in South America should be represented 
here. It would weigh against the European scale, which, at present, is quite 
too heavy here for the safety of American interest. J heg you will take meastires 
to insure this. Ecuador, alone, is now represented here. Spain and France, it 
is to be feared, have a covetous eye on the weak South American republics. 
They should meet them here, where they make their first demonstration. 

THOMAS CORWIN. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State of the United States, Washington. 



Mr. Dohlado to Mr. Seward. 
[Translation.] 



National Palace, Mexico, Decejnher 20, 1861. 

The undersigned, minister for foreign affairs of Mexico, has the honor to place 
in the hands of his excellency the minister of the correspondent department for 
the United States of America copies of the communication which the com- 
mander of the Spanish expedition, upon the invasion of this republic, addressed 
to the governor of the State of Vera Cruz, calling upon him for the surrender 
of the fortress and castle of Ulloa; and of what this department has despatched 
to the said governor in reply. 

His excellency the Secretary wiU also find annexed a printed copy of the 
decree issued by the chief magistrate of the nation, under date of 17th instast, 
which, besides other provisions contained in it, declares the port of Vera Cruz 



40 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

closed to tLe foreign and coasting trade; and another of tlie manifesto which 
the president has put forth, and a copy of the circular transmitted to the gov- 
ernors of the States of the confederation, calling upon them all for the defence 
of the national independence. 

The undersigned avails of the occasion to proffer to your excellency the as- 
surances of his very distinguished consideration. 

MANUEL DOBLADO. 
His Excellency the Secretary for Foreign Affairs 

of the United States of America. 



Mr. Ruhalcava to the Governor of Vera Cruz. 
[Translation.] 

General Headquarters of the Naval Forces 

OF her Catholic Majesty in the Antilles. 

Governor : The long succession of injuries inflicted upon the government 
of her Catholic Majesty by that of the Mexican republic; the repeated outrages 
committed upon Spanish subjects ; and the blind obstinacy with which the gov- 
ernment of Mexico has constantly refused to give ear to the just reclamations of 
Spain, always presented with the moderation and decorum proper to a nation 
so chivalric, have obliged my government to j)ut aside all hope of obtaining 
through measures of conciliation a satisfactory arrangement of the grave differ- 
ences existing between both countries. Notwithstanding, the government of her 
Majesty resolved upon obtaining full reparation of so many outrages, has or- 
dered me to begin my operations by taking possession of the fortress of Vera 
Cruz and the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, which will be held as an hypothe- 
cated security until the government of her Majesty becomes convinced that in 
future the Spanish nation will be treated with the consideration which is due to 
it, and that the treaties which may be concluded between the two governments 
will be religiously observed. Your excellency will communicate to me through 
the channel of the French consul, charged with the representation of the com- 
mercial interests of Spain, within the limit of tAventy-four hours, reckoned from 
the time at which you may receive this communication, whether you are, or not, 
ready to surrender to me the fortress and the castle, with the understanding that 
if the response is negative, or if at the expiration of the time fixed I have re- 
ceived no answer, from that moment you can assume that hostilities are begun, 
for which purpose the Spanish army will be landed. I ought not to hide from 
you that although I make this intimation to you in the name of Spain alone, in 
obedience to the instructions I have received, the occupation of the fortress and 
castle will also serve as guarantees of the rights and claims against the Mexican 
government which the governments of France and England may have occasion 
to establish. 

It remains to me to set before you that the mission of the Spanish forces in 
no way affects the internal policy of the country ; all opinions will be respected, 
no censurable act will be done, and from the moment when oiu* troops occupy 
Vera Cruz the Spanish commanders will answer for the safety of the persons 
and property of its inhabitants whatever may be their nationality. It belongs 
to you and the rest of the Mexican authorities to give guarantees to the foreigners 
until such occupation may take effect, whether it be pacifically or by active 
force. If Spanish subjects and other foreigners should be persecuted or mal- 
treated the forces which compose this expedition would see themselves under 
the hard but unavoidable necessity of recurrence to reprisals. I entertain the 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 41 

hope tlitat you, whatever be your decision, will act with the practical wisdom 
which is to he desired, being yourself convinced that the Spanish troops, always 
hmnane, always noble and loyal even towards their enemies, will not take the 
fii'st step in the way of reprehensible violence even in case of war — ^will avoid 
every species of crime, the only result of which would be to render more difficult 
the arrangement of pending international difficulties. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to offer to you the assurances of my con- 
sidei-atiou. 

Steamer "Isabel la Oatolica," at the anchorage of Anton Lizardo, 14th De- 
cember, 1861. 

JOAQUIN GUT'Z DE EUBALCAVA. 

The Governor of the State of Vera Cruz. 



True copy. 



Mexico, December 20, 1861. 
JUAN DE DIGS AEIAS. 



Mr. Dohlado to the Governor of Vera Cruz. 

Department of Foreign Relations and of Administration, 

Mexico, Decemher 17, 1861. 

The citizen president to whom I made report of the despatch which the com- 
mander of the Spanish naval forces addressed to you, and of that which you 
directed to that chief in reply, orders me to say to you that you must follow 
punctually the instructions which were given you beforehand for the event that 
has already occurred, (the open breaking out of hostilities on the part of the 
subjects of Spain,) and which, in the military service, leaves free action to the 
commanding general-in-chief of the Mexican army. General Uraga, to operate 
in his sphere, as he has been already instructed in detail. It would be improper 
for the government of the republic to address itself to a chief, who, waiving the 
formalities of the law of nations, begins by calling for the surrender of a fortress. 

The war cry spontaneously shouted forth by the nation marks out to the 
government the course it ought to follow, and it will not be the president who 
will fall back before a foreign invasion, with the more reason that 'in this case 
Mexico does but repel force by force, in the exercise of an incontestable natural 
right. I also send to you, by superior order, a copy of the decree and circular 
which I transmit to-day, by express, to the governors of the States, recommend- 
ing you to second, with the energy and activity which the circumstances demand, 
the views of the government, by the faithful carrying out of which the presi- 
dent has no doubt the invasion which menaces the destruction of om- liberty 
and of our independence will be repulsed. 

Liberty and reform. 

DOBLADO. 

The Governor of the State of Vera Cruz. 

Mexico, December 20, 1861. 
A copy. 

JUAN DE DIGS ARIAS 



42 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

31r. Doblado to the Governors of the Mexican States. 

[Circular.] 

Department of Foreign Relations, 

Mexico, December 18, 1861. 

By order of the president, I have the satisfaction to transmit to jow, in copy, 
the despatches exchanged between the commander of the Spanish force at Vera 
Cruz, and the governor of that State, as well as the decree and manifesto which, 
to-day, the chief magistrate of the republic has deemed proper to issue, that the 
States may prepare for the defence of independence. After having exhausted 
the means of pacific accommodation between Spain and Mexico, the government 
of the republic, strong in the consciousness of right, and sensible to the impulses 
of public opinion, pronounced for war, accepts that which the Spanish forces 
have initiated in a manner so unusual, because its right to repel force by force 
IB incontrovertible, and it protests in the presence of the civilized world that all 
responsibility for future events will fall solely on the government of the Queen 
of Spain, which has so inconsiderately made its own the unjust pretexts upon 
which the enemies of Mexican liberty have attempted to speculate. Notwith- 
standing our intestine divisions, the love of independence, and hatred of the 
aaicient rulers over the country still keep alive, although the latter has been 
mitigated by the eflFects of the culture and ci%'iHzation of the age. The president, 
in raising the banner of Mexican nationality, does no more than follow the current 
of public opinion, and has the pleasure to see arrayed around him, on the day of 
a national contest, the greater part of those Mexicans, who, by reason of political 
opinions, remained disunited, but have abandoned intestine divisions on the first 
call of their native country. Although the government has asserted its right to 
expel from the territory of the republic Spaniards resident therein, it has omitted 
to do so at present, because it trusts that they, appreciating the generosity with 
which it treats them, will continue to keep the strict neutrality which their posi- 
, tion enjoins upon them. Thus has the president given another proof of the 
practical wisdom with which he has conducted his foreign relations, establishing, 
by irrefragable acts, that he is not to blame if those relations have reached the 
unfortunate state in which they actually exist. The president, therefore, hopes 
that by giving prompt and strict fulfilment to the decree, of which mention was 
made in the beginning, you will put on the march, with the least possible delay, 
the contingent of armed force allotted to you, and that besides you will make 
use of all the resources of your government to place the State under your worthy 
command in the imposing attitude which becomes it, by arousing, by all means 
in your reach, the patriotism of all the inhabitants of such State, that they may 
assemble together for the common defence, .so that if such unfortunate event 
should occur as the enemy penetrating to the interior, all the inhabitants may 
rise in one body and oppose with their swords and their courage an iu^dncible 
barrier to the daring of our invaders. May the recollection of Hidalgo, of 
Morelos, and of Guerrero, be the rallying point for Mexicans, as well as the flag 
which waves over the ranks of our ai-my in the hour of battle. AU hail our 
independence. All hail the republic. Liberty and reform. 

MANUEL DOBLADO. 

The governor of the State of . 

Mexico, December 23, 1861. 

A copy. 

JUAN DE DIOS ARIAS. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



43 



Decree ofP resident Juarez to tJie Governors of tlie Mexican States. 

Department of Foreign Relations. 
The constitutional president of tlie republic has seen fit to make the decree 
which follows : 

Benito Juarez, constitutional president of tLe United Mexican States, makes 
kno"RTi to the inhabitants thereof: 

That the Spanish forces having taken possession of the port of Vera Cruz, 
and hostilities having by that act broken out between the republic and Spain, 
in xiYtuQ of the full powers with which I am clothed, I have thought proper to 
decree the following : 

Article I. The port of Vera Cruz is closed from and after tbe 14tli of the 
present month to the coasting trade as well as that <5f the high seas. 

Article 2. Those Mexicans are traitors to their country, and shall be punished 
as such, who may take up arms and join the Spaniards, or may in any manner 
favor their cause. 

Article 3. The time which the act of amnesty of the 2d of the present month 
conceded to dissidents to accept the pardon offered by the government is extended 
for fifteen days longer; and the grace is extended to all Mexicans, except those 
who, in the judgment of the government, are not in condition to receive it, for 
which purpose a habilitation will be made in each special case. 

Article 4. Governors are empowered to dispose of revenues belonging to the 
general government in their respective States, so that they may, in the shortest 
time possible, put on the march the contingent of armed force allotted to them by 
this decree. 

Article 5. The contingent of the States is as follows : 



States. 


No. of men. 


States. 


No. of men. 


Federal district 


3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,000 


Chihuahua 


2, 000 


Oajaca 


Guerrero 


2 000 


Juanaiuato 


Yucatan 


2, 000 


Galisco 


Tabasco 


2, 000 


Zacatecas 


Aguas Calientes 

Queretaro — 

Colima 


1 000 


San Luis Potosi 


1, 000 


Mexico 


1, 000 


Michoacan 


Chiapas 


1, 000 


Puebla .J. 


Tlaxcala 


1, 000 


Vera Cruz 


Baja Califoi'nia 


1, 000 


Nueva Leon y Coahuila 

Tamaulipas 


Sonora 


1, 000 


Sinaloa ............... 


1, 000 


Duransro 













Article 6. Without prejudice to the posting of the contingent designated, 
at the point which will be designated in due season, the governors will call to 
arms all tlie national guard which may be disposable, imposing the extraordinary 
duties which, in their judgment, may seem proper to obtain the resources neces- 
sary for the subsistence of such forces. 

Article 7. The Spaniai-ds resident iu the coimtry will continue living under 



44 THE PRESENT CONDITION OP MEXICO. 

tlie protection of tlie laws, and tliose wlio, abusing the generositj of tlio govern- 
ment, may aid tlie invaders shall only be puuislied in conformity therewith. 

Wherefore I order that this be printed, published, and circulated, and be duly 
executed. 

Given at the national palace, in Mexico, the 17th of December, 1861. 

BENITO JUAREZ. 
•To Manual Doblauo, 

Minister for Foreign Relations. 

I communicate this to you for its execution and resulting conseq[uences. 
God and liberty. Mexico, December 17, 1S61. 

DOBLADO. 
To the Governor of the State of . 



Proclamation of Tresiderit Juarez to the Mexicans. 
[Translation.] 
The constitutional president of the republic to the nation : 

Mexicans : The announcements of the approaching war which was prepar- 
ing against us in Eui-ope have unhappily begun to be realized. Spanish troops 
have invaded our territory, our national dignity is wounded, and our mdepend- 
ence perhaps endangered. In circumstances so afflictive the government of 
the republic deems that it discharges one of its principal duties by placing be- 
fore you the cardinal idea which will be the basis of its policy in the present 
affair. The interest of all is at stake, and therefore all are under obligation, as 
-faithful sons of Mexico, to contribute their intelligence, their fortune, and their 
blood to the safe-keeping of the republic. All have equal right to inform them- 
selves of the action and of the policy of the government. 

On the 14th of the present month the governor of the State of Vera Cruz 
received a summons from the commander of the Spanish naval forces to evacuate 
that port and the fortress of Ulloa, which the same commander announced that 
he would hold in pledge until the government of the Queen of Spain should be 
assured that in the futm-e the Spanish nation will be treated with the consid- 
eration due to it, and that the treaties which may be concluded between the tTTO 
governments will be religiously observed. The Spanish commander also an- 
nounces that the occupation of the port and castle will serve as a guarantee of 
the rights and claims against the Mexican government which France and Great 
Britain may have occasion to establish. 

The foundations of this aggression are inexact, to wit : the offences offered to 
the government of her Catholic Majesty by the govemmentrof the republic, and 
the blind obstinacy -with which the government of Mexico has constantly re- 
fused to give ear to the just claims of Spain. 

The invariable conduct of the Mexican government does not allow the im- 
partial eyes of justice to give assent to such imputations. The Spanish gov- 
ernment, since the treaty of peace of 1836, has always been regarded as that 
of a friendly power, connected with Mexico by means of especial ties, without 
that, against this truth there can at this day be alleged, as a well-founded 
objection, the fact of the expulsion of the Spanish ambassador. As the special 
cu'cumstances of that case are well known, and no less well known is the dis- 
position which the government entertained, and still entertains, to give upon 
this particular explanations the most rational and proper ; reduced, in a few 
words, to the necessity of excluding from the national territory a foreign funo- 
tiouary, who came decidedly to encourage the principal fosterers of the rebel- 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 45 

lion against the legitimate authorities of the republic. The government then 
made use of a right which all nations hold and exercise, and which Spain has 
on repeated occasions put in force ; but manifesting at the same time that that 
determination in nowise affected the good relations which existed, and which it 
desired to maintain with the Spanish nation. 

The outrages committed against Spanish subjects are not either acts which 
can be presented in contradiction of the purpose of maintaining the best agree- 
ment with that government, because those outrages were only the inevitable 
consequences of the social revolution which the nation initiated and consumma- 
ted, in order to extirpate those abuses which had been the perennial causes of 
its misfortunes — consequences which, in their turn, natives and foreigners have 
eaidured without any distinction of their respective nationalities. And if some- 
what the greater portion of these mischances has fallen upon Spanish subjects, 
may not this have arisen from the fact that the number resident in the republic 
is also larger than that of those of another nationality 1 May it not have sprung 
from the fact that the Spaniards, more than any other foreigners, have taken 
and take sides in our dissensions, in which many of them have displayed a fierce 
and sanguinary disposition ? 

Notwithstanding, the various administrations which have succeeded to each 
other have always listened to the claims of the Spanish legation, and have re- 
ceived Avith favor those which seemed to be supported by any principle of equity. 
A long time anterior to the recognition of our independence the Mexican congress 
made national the debt contracted by the Spanish government, although a great 
part of its amount had been spent in fighting against that very independence, 
and another part, no less considerable, was appropriated to the European obli- 
gations of the Spanish monarchy. Subsequently the character of agreement 
was given to the arrangement of Spanish claims ; but it being afterwards made 
apparent that some of the Spanish subjects interested in them, abusing the kind 
disposition of the government of the republic, presented immense amounts which 
evidently had not the characteristics required by the convention, the Mexican 
government took measures, by virtue of which this operation might be set right, 
reducing them within just and equitable bounds. 

For the rest the government has been and is disposed to satisfy all just 
claims as far as the resources of the nation may permit, well known as they are 
to the power which is now invading it. All nations, and Spain most especially, 
have passed through epochs of want and penury, and almost all have had cred- 
itors who have waited for better times for their protection. It is only from 
Mexico that sacrifices are required which are beyond its power. 

If the Spanish nation cloaks other designs beneath the financial question, and 
because of offences which are unfounded, its intentions will soon be known. 
But the government whose duty it is to prepare the nation for any event, an- 
nounces, as the basis of its policy, that it does not declare war, but will repel 
force by force so far as its means of action may permit. That it is disposed to 
satisfy claims made upon it which are founded in justice and equity, but without 
accepting conditions that cannot be admitted without offending the dignity of 
the nation, or calling in question its independence. Mexicans, if such just pur- 
poses should not be appreciated ; if it should be attempted to humihate Mexico, 
to dismember its territory, interfere with its administration and internal policy, 
or perchance extinguish its nationality, I appeal to your patriotism, and I con- 
jure you that, laying aside the hatreds and enmities to which the diversity of 
our f)pinions has given origin, and making sacrifice of your property and your 
blood, you gather yourselves around the government and in defence of tin; cause, 
tlie greatest and most sacred to men and to nations — the defence of our native 
land. 

Exaggerated and sinister statements by the enemies of Mexico have presented 
us to the world as rude and degraded. 



46 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Let ns maintain war with those who provoke ns to it, strictly ohserving the 
laws and usages established for the benefit of hmnanity. Let the unarmed 
enemy, to whom Ave have granted a generous hospitality, live tranquil and 
secure under the protection of our laws. Thus shall we repel the calumnies of 
our enemies, and shall prove ourselves worthy of the liberty and independence 
which our fathers bequeathed to us. 

BENITO JUAREZ. 

Mexico, Decemher 18, 1861. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Corinin. 



No. 36.] Department of State, 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 

Your very interesting despatch of December 24 (No. 11) has been received. 

Tou are already aware that the President, early during the present session of 
Congress, submitted to the Senate your project of a treaty with Mexico, by 
which provision would be made for a loan to that republic, and asked the Senate's 
advice upon the subject. 

Hitherto the Senate has not acted upon the subject. It is understood that 
this delay has been made because it was thought desirable to have such infor- 
njation from you of the condition of affairs in Mexico as you should be able to 
give after the then expected hostilities of the three powers allied against Mexico 
should be actually begun. A copy of your despatch has been submitted by the 
President to the Senate, with a request that it would act u.pon the whole subject 
at the earliest possible day. Under the circumstances, the President deems it 
his duty to wait for the Senate's reply, which, of course, must have an important 
bearing upon the nature of the instructions to be given to you for the regidation 
of yoiu- conduct in the existing emergency. I tnist, however, that no long delay 
will now be found necessary. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Thomas Corwin, Esq., ^c, c^., 4^. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 



No. 13. 1 Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, January 12, 1862. 

Sir : The last Bi-itish steamer which arrived at Vera Cruz, the 26th of 
November, brought nothing from the department to me. Mr. Proctor writes 
me from Vera Cruz that he was directed to bear to this city important despatches 
for the legation, but the despatch agent at New York did not furnish them to 
him, and he went on board the steamer without them. 

Under circumstances existing here, this failure is a subject of deep regret. 
Tlie Spanish fleet, with from seveii to ten thousand land troops, are in possession 
of Vera Cruz, while the French and English forces are hourly expected to join 
them, making the land forces altogether from fifteen to twenty thousand. If 
the commissioners, when they arrive, adhere to the avowed objects of the triple 
treaty, every question pending with either of the three powers will be adjusted 
without a war. If, as many suspect, there are secret orders to establish a 
government here under European auspices, then this country is doomed to a 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 47 

long, desultory, and bloody war, and finally to complete subjugation. From all 
the information in my possession, I incline strongly to tbe belief tbat the present 
Em-opean movement will end without war. 

All reliable means of communication witb tlie United States are entirely cut 
off. The British courier no longer carries my mail to Vera Cmz, or any other. 
The Mexican mail cannot be relied on, and will probably soon entirely cease to 
take the mail to the city of Vera Cruz, and Mr. Proctor writes that since the 
affair of the Trent the British steamer will not carry any mail between Vera 
Gi'ixz and Havana. I am left, therefore, to find means to write to the depart- 
ment, or not write at all. I send this by a courier (employed by the Prvissian 
minister) who, I learn from Mr. Wagner, will go to Vera Cruz to-morrow. I 
send to the American consul at Vera Cruz, with instructions to send it, if pos- 
sible, by the Spanish steamer which goes every week to Havana, at which 
latter place our consul, I hope, will find some conveyance to New York. I 
have engaged Captain Stoeker, a brave and honest American, to carry my 
despatches to Vera Cruz, as often as I deem necessary, at a very moderate 
compensation, and have yesterday arranged with the president here to allow 
him to cany letters for the merchants here, at such rates as can be agreed on 
between him and those who wish to correspond through him. I have some 
hope that our consul at Vera Cruz will be able to send a mail by the Spanish 
steamer to Havana. General Gassett, the commander of the Spanish forces, 
has, so far, been very accommodating towards our consul and people who have 
been within the district under his control. 

I shall duplicate this despatch by Captain Stoeker, who will leave for Vera 
Cruz oil Wednesday, (three days hence,) as it is not entirely certain that any 
courier will reach Vera Cruz safely, and without loss of his mail. 

I earnestly entreat that the important despatches, said to be left in the hands 
of the agent at New York, may be forwarded (if this be not already done) at 
the earliest possible moment. 

General Doblado is now secretary of foreign relations, and entertains the best 
disjiositions towards the United States. From all I have yet seen and known 
of him, I thiuk he is the man for the present times in this country. 
I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

THOS. CORWIN". 

Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State of the United States, Washington. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 
[Extracts.] 



No. 14.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, January 26, 1862. 

Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt, on the 19th instant, by means of a 
special courier from Vera Cmz to the Prussian legation in this city, of your de- 
spatches, Nos. 14, 16, 31, 32, and 33; No. 14 enclosing the duplicate of the 
commission of Marcus Otterbourg, as United States consul at this city, and 
No. 31 enclosing the commission of Peter Lott, of New Jersey, as United 
States consul at Tchuantcpec. 

Since my last despatch nothing of a decided character has been done touch- 
ing the relations of this republic with Europe. Enough, however, is known to 
satisfy me that neither of the three powers expect the expedition to result in the 
establishment of a throne in Mexico. It was thought by many, and I at one 
time entertained a fear that such was the secret design of Spain. I am now 



48 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

entii-elj at ease on tliat poiut. *#***! know firrtlier, 
tliat the governmeut liere were gratified -wlien tliej received the despatch from 
the commissioners at Vera Cruz, three days ago. So far everything promises a 
speedy and safe solution of the present imminent difficulties of Mexico. 

The commissioners of the three powers will be in this city by the first of Feb- 
ruary, and I have little doubt that treaties with them all will soon follow. 

I have heretofore informed the department that I had been assured, by both 
the French and English ministers here, that neither France nor England thought 
proper to treat du-ectly with the United States for the payment of the interest 
on their Mexican debt, assigning as a reason that such a course might possibly 
lead to a disagreement with us, which they very much desii-ed to avoid. Know- 
ing this to be the case, the Mexican government asked me whether, if she gave 
away her revenue to obtain a peaceful settlement of her European debt, the 
United States government would lend her a sum ec^uivalent to that proposed 
to be paid to the European claimants, to wit : three per cent, annually, for 
five years, on §63,000,000. To this I assented, as being, in my judgment, 
within the spirit of my instructions. In conformity with these views, I sub- 
mitted the project of a treaty, a copy of which I transmitted to the department. 
The entire cabinet were satisfied with that project, in every particular. But I 
did not deem it proper, under my instnictions, to make this treaty until I was 
asfeui-ed that England and France were satisfied. The rejection of the British 
treaty by congress obliged me to withdraw mine for the time. The same 
treaty, in substance, will now be ratified with England, and I have little doubt, 
as I have already stated, that similar satisfactory, arrangements will be made 
with France and Spain. AYhen this is done, I shall feel bound, unless insti'ucted 
to the contrary, to submit a treaty in substance such as I have already sent to 

the department. 

* # * ** #*» 

Yours, respectfully, 

THOMAS COEWIN. 
Hon. W. H. Seward, 

Secretary of State of the United States. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin. 



Ko. 37.] Department of State, 

Washington, February 15, 1862. 

Your despatch of January 26 (No. 14) has been received. The Senate, as I 
have reason to suppose, is largely occupied with our own domestic afiairs, and 
at the same time is somewhat perplexed by the extraordinary state of affairs in 
Mexico, and so it has not yet come to any conclusion upon the questions sub- 
mitted to that body by the President for its advice. Under these circumstances, 
it seems to me best that if the occasion shall offer for Mexico to make a treaty 
with her invaders, and if Mexico shall at the same time and with a view to her 
aid in that emergency, apply to you for some financial aid from the United 
States, then you shall exercise your best discretion in making a treaty which 
will be useful to her and as little embarrassing to our own country as possible, 
and send the treaty here without delay for the consideration of this government. 

There are, however, very unmistakable indications that the Senate will require 
two things in any treaty you may negotiate, namely: 1st. That the aid to be 
rendered to Mexico shall be in the form of an assumption of payment of interest. 
2d. That the aid so rendered shall be guaranteed to be effectual in securing 
Mexico a release from all her complications with the allies now making war 
upon her. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 49 

Tliis seems to be your own view of the subject, and it meets tlie President's 
approval. 

The views you express concerning a probable escape of the Mexican republic 
from the embarrassments which surround it, without the loss of independence, 
are fiill of interest, and we hope that they may be justified by events. 

Desirous to act in good faith with the allies now invading Mexico, as well as 
with Mexico, and believing that such a course on our part will result beneficially 
to Mexico, I have informally communicated the general effect of these instruc- 
tions to the governments of Spain, Great Britain, and France, as you will of 
course make them known to the president of the Mexican republic. 

The consul at Minatitlan had been replaced before your despatch was received. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



Thomas Corwiiv, Esq., ^., Sfc., S^. 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin. 



No. 40.] Department of State, 

Washington, February 28, 1862. 

Sir : I enclose to you a copy of a resolution of the Senate of the 25th instant 
relative to your negotiations with the government of Mexico. You will consider 
your instructions upon the silbject referred to modified by this resolution, and 
will govern yom* course accordingly. 

I am, sh, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
Thomas Corwin, Esq., ^., 4^., ^r. 

IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. 

Senate of the United States, 

February 25, 1862. 

Resolved, That in reply to the two several messages of the President with 
regard to a treaty with Mexico, the Senate expresses the opinion that it is not 
advisable to negotiate a treaty that will require the United States to assume 
any portion of the principal or interest of the debt of Mexico, or that will require 
the concurrence of European powers. 

Attest : J. W. FORNEY, Secretary. 



Mr. Corwin to Mr. Seward. 

[Extract.] 



No. 16.] Legation of the United States of America, 

Mexico, February 18, 1862. 
giR :* * * * * * * * * 

I have deemed it my duty to keep the United States government advised of 
events here as promptly as possible, until the results of the present intervention 
shall fully appear. Nothing has, as yet, transpired between the intervening 
powers and Mexico to enable me to say, with certainty, whether war will or 
will not be waged by the three powers as a means of enforcing their claims 
against Mexico. 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 4 



50 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

Mr. Doblado, the minister of foreign relations, left liere on Friday morning 
(the 14th instant) to meet the foreign commissioners at Soledad, a small village 
about thirty miles from Vera Cruz. The object of this meeting is to agree, if 
possible, on certain points preliminary to treaties settling the claims of each 
power. In a confcrejice with Mr. Doblado the night before his departure, he 
informed me that the points he should insist on were : 

First. The recognition by each and all of the three powers of the present 
government of Mexico. 

'Seco?id. A pledge not in any event to attempt a dismemberment of the 
present territory of Mexico. 

Third. A pledge not to interfere in the domestic government of Mexico, or 
make any effort to change the existing fundamental laws of the republic. 

These propositions seem to me to embody precisely the engagements entered 
into by these powers with each other in the treaty which has been published 
by themselves ; and if there be no secret understanding behind the treaty, I 
doubt not Mr. Doblado will succeed in securing the proposed preliminary ar- 
rangement. If he fails in this, however, hostilities are inevitable. Should these 
points be satisfactorily arranged, then no difficulty can arise except such as 
may grow out of the details to be adjusted as to the amounts due to each of the 
intervening powers, and the securities to be given by Mexico for their future 
payment. The amounts may, I think, be easily and fairly adjusted, but the 
security for the payment of present dues and future interest will be more diffi- 
cult of adjustment. 

The only security acceptable to any of the claimants is a mortgage on the 
revenues from imposts. To make this security such as will no doubt be earnestly 
insisted on, Mexico Avill be required to surrender, for a limited period, a very 
great proportion of this class of her revenues, which she cannot do without 
imminent danger to her internal peace, unless the United States will step in 
and make her the loan proposed in the proposed treaty, a copy of which I have 
heretofore transmitted for the criticism of the government at Washington. If 
the parties here shall not agree as to the securities to be received by each, and 
Mexico shall not be able to give what is demanded for want of the loan pro- 
posed by us, then war may ensue, and the subjugation of this country to Euro- 
pean domination may and (in such case) probably will be the result. 

In the project of the treaty which I forwarded to the department, I had 
strict regard as to the whole amount, to the sum named in my instructions, that 
is the payment of the interest at three per cent, on sixty-three millions for five 
years, making a total of nine millions four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
to be secured on the public lands in four of the States of Mexico. In the 
treaty I proposed, about the same amount would be loaned to Mexico, payable 
in instalments, so as to answer the exigencies of the government here, and at 
the same time secure both governments against any prodigality in the use of 
this loan, whilst the security given for it included all the public lands and 
mineral rights in the whole republic, as also the entire unadministered national 
property, called the " church property," estimated here at not less than twenty 
millions. To secure the faithful appropriation of this secirrity to the payment 
of interest and principal of the loan, a mixed commission to administer and 
apply properly the proceeds of these two funds was pro^^ded. In order not to 
distress the United States treasury, I insisted on the option to advance this 
loan in cash, or in bonds at par, bearing an interest of six per cent., believing, 
as I then did and do now, that the proceeds of the lands, mineral rights, and 
church property would, after the first year, either pay the cash to be advanced, 
or, if the government chose to advance the loan in bonds, to take up these 
bonds as fast as issued. In the meantime I further provided that Mexican 
bonds should be deposited in the treasury, equivalent in amount to each advance 
by our government, bcurmg six per cent, interest, which, if the funds provided 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 51 

to take tliem up should be aiS available, as I believe they would, for tbeir 
redemption, would readily sell in the market at par, so that if the entire arrange- 
ment should be faithfully carried out, the proposed loan could operate no injury 
to our national credit, whilst the great end in view, the security of the national 
life of Mexico, would be attained. I am thus particular in stating the points 
of interest in the treaty I proposed, because I wish the government to see that 
I have kept in view the substance of my instructions, and because I am sure 
the time is approaching when we may be obliged to do in substance what we 
first proposed, that is, to pay the interest on the sum stated above, or abandon 
Mexico to such a fate as the three powers, now here in force, shall choose to 
award her. The prompt and friendly manner in which the government here 
granted us the right to march troops and convey provisions and munitions of 
war over her territory, to aid in quelling the rebellion on our frontier, contiguous 
to hers, furnishes, I think, a strong motive to a retui-n of this generous act. . 
Such has been the conduct of this government towards the commissioner of the 
" Confederate States," that Mr. Pickett recently sent here, from Vera Cruz, a 
letter which, I am informed, was so abusive in its tenns that it was forthwith 

returned without a reply. 

* * * « * •* * 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THOS. COEWIN. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State of the United States, Washington. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin. 



No. 43.] Department of State, 

Washington, April 3, 1862. 

Sir: Tour very interesting despatch of February 28 has been received. 
You have already been informed that the Senate advised the President adversely 
to the projected treaty with Mexico, in both of the foiTQs in which it was sub- 
mitted to them. Under these circiimstances the President is unabled to suggest 
to you any other mode for contributing to the deliverance of our sister republic 
from the embarrassments by which she is surrounded which would be accept- 
able to the Senate. 

The House of Representatives has called for the papers relating to the case, 
and we may perhajJS find some plan for rendering assistance not incompatible 
Avith the rights of other parties in the debates whidi the report from this depart- 
ment may elicit. 

Meantime I desire- to direct your most earnest attention to the necessity of 
guarding, if possible, against any such pledge of the resources of Mexico to 
foreign powers as might affect our cause injuriously, or impair the ability of the 
people of Mexico to sustain the free government established by their own 
choice. 

You will not leave the government of Mexico in doubt for a moment that the 
government and people of the United States are indifferent concerning the perils 
by which they are menaced. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Thomas Corwin, Esq., ^., !ifc., Sfc. 



52 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward. 
[Translation.] 

Mexican Legation in the United States of America, 

Washingt07i, Septemher 21, 1861. 

Mr. Secretary : I have tlie honor to transmit to you the copies, which are 
mentioned in the enclosed index, of the documents to Avhich I referred in the 
conference with which you favored me this morning, and in those held on pre- 
vious days, relative to the attitude that the ministers of France and England, 
residing in Mexico, and their respective governments have taken towards that 
republic. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assurances of my 
very distinguished consideration. 

M. ROMERO. 

Hon. William H. Seward, ^., ^., ^. 



[Translation.] 
MEXICAN legation IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Index of the documents which, on this date, this legation transmits to the Depart- 
ment of State of the United States in regard to the susj^ension of relations by 
the French and English ministers residing in Mexico with the government of 
that republic. 



No. 


From whom and to whom. 


Date. 


Contents. 


1 
2 
3 


Mr. Zamacona to Mr. Romero ... 
Mr. Zamacona to Mr. Fuente 


1861. 
July 29 
....do.... 
July 17 

July 18 
July 19 

July 20 
July 21 

....do.-.- 

.-..do.... 

July 22 
July 23 


Instructions. 
Do. 

Law of suspension of payments. — (See 
British Parliamentary Document.) 

Circular explanation of said law, con- 
taining the programme of the new 
cabinet. 

Asking if the law was authentic which 
had appeared in the newspapers. — 
(See British Parliamentary Docu- 
ment.) 

Do. do. 

Enclosing copy of the law, and ex- 
plaining its contents. 

In reply to the note as to whether the 
law was authentic. 

In reply to the note as to whether the 
law was authentic. — (See British 
Parliamentary Document.) 

In reply to note No. 9.— (See British 
Parliamentary Document.) 

Asking the repeal of the law of the 
17th of July within 48 hours. — 
(See British Parliamentary Docu- 
ment.) 


4 




,5 

6 

7 

8 
9 

10 
11 


Sir Chas. Wyke to Mr. Zamacona. 

Mr. de Saligny to Mr. Zamacona. 
Mr. Zamacona to Sir G. "Wyke and 

to Mr. de Saligny. 
Mr. Zamacona to Mr. de Saligny. 

Mr. Zamacona to Sir C. Wyke 

Sir C. Wyke to Mr. Zamacona . . . 
Same to same. .-...-..•.-.---. 







THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 
Index of documents — Continued. 



53 



No. 


From whom and to whom. 


Date. 


Contents. 






1861. 




12 


Mr. de Saligny to Mr. Zamacona. 


July 23 


In reply to note No 7. 


13 


Same to same. -._.-. 


July 24 


Asking the repeal of the law within 






24 hours. 


14 


Mr. Zamacona to Mr. de Saligny. 


July 25 


Saying that only the congress can 
repeal the law. 


15 


Mr. Zamacona to Sir C. Wyke 


.-.-do.... 


Saying that only the congress can 
repeal the law. — (See British Par- 
liamentary Document ) 


16 


Mr. de Saligny to Mr. Zamacona. 


....do...- 


Cutting off relations. 


17 


Mr. Zamacona to Mr. de Saligny. 


-..-do---- 


In reply to No. 16. 


18 


Sir C. Wyke to Mr. Zamacona 


...-do... 


Suspending relations. — (See British 
Parliamentary Document.) 


19 


Mr Zamacona to Sir C. "Wyke... 


-...do-.- 


In reply to No. 18.— (See British Par- 
liamentary Document.) 


20 


Sir C. Wyke to Mr. Zamacona... 


July 26 


In reply to No. 19.— (See British Par- 
liamentary Document.) 


21 


Mr. Zamacona to Sir 0. Wyke 


July 27 


In reply to No. 20.— (See British Pa,r- 
liamentary Document.) 


22 


- Mr. de Saligny to Mr. Zamacona. 


July 26 


In reply to Nos. 14 and 17. 


23 


Mr. Zamacona to Mr. de Saligny. 


July 27 


In reply to No. 22. 


24 


Mr. Zamacona to Mr. Eomero 


Aug. 29 


Instructions. 


25 


Mr. Zamacona to Mr. Fuente 


....do..-- 


Do. 


26 


Mr. Fuente to Mr. Romero 


Sept. 5 


Informing him of the determination 
of the French government. 


27 


Mr. Fuente to Mr. Zamacona 


Sept. 4 


Interview with Mr. de Thouvenel. 


28 


Mr. Fuente to Mr. Thouvenel 


....do.-.. 


Suspending relations. 



Washington, September 21, 1861. 



No. 1. 

[Translation. — Extract.] 

MEXICAN REPUBLIC, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

■ No. 32.] National Palace, Mexico, July 29, 1861. 

The copy whicli I enclose to yon of the instructions that on this date are 
transmitted to the plenipotentiary of the republic at Paris will acquaint you 
■with the present state of the diplomatic relations of this government with the 
representatives of France and England. You will notice that these instructions 
have principally two objects : to rectify the inexact reports which the two func- 
tionaries mentioned will make to their governments in regard to the political 
situation of Mexico and the character of the measures recently adopted, and to 
facilitate the success of the labors which will be undertaken by our representa- 
tive at Paris, so that they may be seconded by the diplomacy of friendly nations. 
For a favorable result to these two objects your services may be very useful in 
your sphere of action, since there are within it springs which may be applied to 
the prosperous termination of our efforts in Europe ; and there are also means 
by which the question to which the decree of the 17th instant has given lise 
may not be rendered unnatural to the view of friendly nations. Some docu- 
ments accompany this note, whose publicity in the country where you are would 
bo very proper, and a copy of the correspondence which this department has 
lately had with the English and French legations also accompanies it. Although 



54 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

a copy of this correspondence has been fiiniished to Mr. Oorwin,* and I suppose 
that he will transmit it to his goverament, it would be proper for you to procure 
a conferen ce with the Secretary of State, and to give him an idea of the diplo- 
matic question which has just arisen in Mexico, by showing him the documents 
in relation thereto and making to him the appi-opriate explanations. * * 

********** 

In addition to which, it is excusable to recommend to you to cultivate with 
care the sympathies of the government near which you reside, and to strengthen 
in it a conviction in regard to the similarity of interests which, in questions with 
the powers of Europe, binds Mexico and the United States to each other. 

********** 

I reiterate to you the assurances of my respectful consideration. 

MANUEL M. DE ZAMACONA. 

The Charge d'Affairs of the Mexican Republic, 

at Washington. 

Washington, September 21, 1S61. 

A true copy. 

KOMERO. 



No. 2. 

[Translation. — Extract] 

MEXICAN REPUBLIC, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

Instructions addressed to Ms excellency Senor Don Juan Antonio de la Ftiente, 
minister plenipotentiary of Mexico at Paris. 

The decree of the 17th of July and the circular accompanying these instruc- 
tions will acquaint Mr. Fuente with the measures by which the new ministry 
formed on the 13th of the same month has deemed it its duty to begin the 
administrative reorganization of the republic. The necessity for temporarily 
suspending payments, and for gi%ang unity and regularity to the national debt, 
has been felt not only by the government, but by the whole country ; and hence 
it happened that the idea which had been broached at the time that the govern- 
ment resided at Vera Cruz was proposed at the begimiing of the year by the 
press of the capital, and was recognized as so proper that several writers dis- 
puted with each other as to the originality of the proposition. While this was 
going on in the discussions of the press, Mr. de Saligny confidentially began 
them with the minister of relations by offering him, although in exchange for 
important condescensions, to afford to the republic not only a truce for the pay- 
ment, but even a relief as regarded the most important of the debts due to 
France. 

The great extremities in which the government has found itself, through the 
necessity of undertaking a campaign on a grand scale against the reaction, have 
compelled it to reflect on all the means suitable for affording it resources ; and, 
as one of them, it proposed in the congress, at the close of May, the suspension 
of all payments, including that aiising from diplomatic conventions. The 
chamber recoiled at that time from the idea of interrupting the fulfilment of 
international compacts, and only voted for the suspension of other ordinary pay- 
ments, and ample authority to the government to provide resources for itself. 

The public situation at that period had rendered this very difficult. The 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 55 

reactionary bands, concentrated imder tlie command of Marquez, liad gathered 
in the valley and state of Mexico, and the public mistrust and the paralyzation 
of all business concerns rendered very difficidt to the government expedients 
for obtaining resources. There was, therefore, no other salvation for society and 
public order but by employing its authority in extreme and hateful measures, 
which extended to the imprisonment of the leading capitalists, for the purpose 
of compelling them to make heavy exhibits. The reaction, meanwhile, braced 
up by some small triumphs, threatened at a short distance even the capital of 
the republic, Avhose suburbs some of its small lurking bauds succeeded in pene- 
trating. 

The government, of its OAvn impulse, and on account of public opinion, which 
was strongly excited, had to put m motion numerous forces in pursuit of the 
rebels, and to organize the national guard of the district, in order to take into 
the field the garrisons of regular troops. The costly expenses of equipping and 
setting in motion the forces, and of arming the national guard, absorbed enor- 
mous sums, and' this at a time when the ordinary resources of the government 
were uncollectible, and the chief part of them absorbed by the appropriations 
for the payment of the foreign debt. The character of the political situation 
rendered unavailable, also, the revenues from nationalization, the amount of 
which is in proportion to the probabilities of consolidation which are offered by 
the reform. 

The enemies of this government, meanwhile, do not confine themselves to de- 
vastating the richest and most populous districts of the republic, while organized 
into numerous movable bands, but bring into play very ramified machinations, 
one of which is to involve in their influences the diplomatic representatives. 
This was very easy with respect to the one from the French empire, who, hav- 
ing inherited the relations of Mr. Gabriac, keeping in his own house several 
personages of the reaction, and interested, as is asserted, in the success of some 
of the business engagements entered into with the usurpers of the public au- 
thority, had many points of contact and many afiinities with the persons who 
personified at the capital the retrograde principle. Hence it has happened that 
within the last few months all the embarrassments which ill will could suggest 
have been stirred up against the government, and that the attempt has been 
successful in having his views innocently seconded by the minister of England, 
who, although without any sufficient cause, is found involved in a political at- 
mosphere rather uncongenial to the principles which this government is develop- 
irig. In order to render the minister of England an instrument to the views of 
Mr. Saligny and of the reactionary party, it has been sufficient to strongly im- 
bue him with prejudices in regard to what is called the anarchical character of 
the progi-esista party, and to the propriety of a system of compromise Avhich 
he thinks suitable for giving stability to liberal institutions. Seeing the policy 
of Mexico through the deceitful prism of the society which forms around the two 
diplomatists an exceptional and eccentric minority, both predict the inevitable 
advent of a neutral party, which in reality does not exist in the republic ; and 
not seeing beyond the capital, they do not take into account the interests which 
the reform has established over the whole surface of the nation, nor the tenacity 
of the states in maintaining certain principles, nor the promptitude with which 
they unite and harmonize when they believe these principles to be attacked. 

Be this as it may, under the inspiration of that erroneous policy and of the 
interests before mentioned, the two ministers referred to have maintained within 
the last two months an attitude rather unfriendly towards the government, and 
their bad disposition has even had the effect to defeat an arrangement which hud 
recently been made with the parties interested in the English and French con- 
ventions, by appropriating to them the revenues from nationalization. 

At the middle of this month the situation of the government had become 
exceedingly difficult. Its exertions to place considerable forces in the field had 



66 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

exhausted its resources. A long ministerial crisis, whicli kept the cabinet in- 
complete, rendered languid tlie action of the government. The pressure of the 
public spirit and of the congress, which demanded, not ^Wthout reason, move- 
ment and activity, was very strong ; and the president, in conjunction with the 
members with wlioin he completed at last his ministry, comprehended that the 
time had arrived for setting about the administrative reform with firmness and 
resolution, as the only means of re-establishing the prestige of the revolution, 
and of providing the government with the elements necessary for restoring to 
the country the peace and security which it has so long needed. 

Under the influence of this determination, a proposition, expressed, with very 
little variation, in the same terms as the decree of the 17th, annexed to these 
instructions, was drawn up and presented to the congress on the same day 
(July 13) on whicli the cabinet was completed. Before the proposition was 
perfected there was no failure to discuss the propriety of preparing for the sus- 
pension of payments on diplomatic ground. But two considerations inclined 
opinions to the opposite extreme. In the first place, the recent conduct 
of the ministers, most especially that of Mr. Saligny, led to the presumption 
that, instead of condescension and prudence on their part, there would be 
resistance and impediments, created purposely, and that, in case of the measure 
having finally to be carried into effect, they might give to it a most aggressive 
and shameful character. On the other hand, the circumstances in which the 
government Avas found on the 13th day of July were extreme. The resources 
with which it had fitted out General Gonzalez Ortega for the field — thanks to 
forced exactions imposed on many capitalists — gave out on the 15th day of the 
same month, and the troops of the government, who pursued the reactionary 
masses in their course to the south, would have had at least to remain immova- 
ble, and to abandon Cuernavaca and the neighboring towns, no less than the 
federal district and State of Mexico, to the depredations and atrocities of the 
rebels. The subsidies obtained by force and by imprisonment could no longer 
be depended on ; and the government had no other reliance for preventing the 
catastrophies and anarchy which were threatening the most interesting portion 
of the republic than the funds existing in Mexico and in Vera Cruz, intended 
for the payment of the foreign debt. A momentary seizure of them would have 
produced a like alarm, and would leave the government in the same complica- 
tions, and deprive it of the excuse which is afforded it by the purpose deter- 
mined on of attacking the radical arrangement of the treasury and of the public 
debt. The government believed that it ought not to lose a moment in proceed- 
ing to that reform which was the complement of all the others, and that the 
idea of putting order in the administration, and of re-establishing legal bounda- 
ries between the financial powers of the confederacy and of the States, had 
arrived at such a seasonable juncture that it should not delay one moment in 
carrying it into practical operation. The government was not deceived. The 
national representation — a faithful expression of all liberal shades of opinion — 
can-ied the proposition of the executive by a vote of one hundred and two 
against four. The government had resources ; it was able to provide General 
Ortega with them, and to reduce the rebels to the extreme condition in which 
they are now placed at the south, dwindled down to an insignificant number, 
and surrounded by the constitutional forces in a district which is hostile to 
them, and where it is probable they will be brought to an end by desertion 
and the want of resources. The government has been enabled to breathe, and 
to devote itself immediately to the arrangement of the offices and to the forma- 
tion of the estimates, which will be published next week. 

The present minister of relations, immediately after going into the cabinet, 
entered into frank and confidential relations with all the diplomatic rej)resenta- 
tives, especially with those of France and England, but without speaking to 
them concerning the proposition which was under discussion in the congress, 
although it was a public matter. As soon as the decree was communicated by 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 57 

the department of the treasiiiy to tlie . department of relations, the minister of 
this department proceeded to have a confidential talk with Messrs. Wyke and 
Saligny before commnnicating to them by official letter the suspension of pay- 
ments which had been decreed. The minister of relations reached the English 
legation at the moment in which Mr. Wyke had just sent him a communication 
expressing surprise that the decree should have been promulgated without giving 
him previous notice. In regard to Mr. de Saligny, the minister of relations 
foiuid him . shut up, and preparing, probably, the communication which he soon 
afterwards addressed to him, to the same effect. By means first of a visiting 
card, and then of a brief note, the minister of state made known to Mr. de 
Saligny that he desired to have a private conference with him before communi- 
cating to him officially the decree in regard to the suspension of payments. 
This conference took place on the following day after Mr. de Saligny had on 
the evening previous sent an official expression of stirprise in the same terms as 
that which had been sent by the English minister. In the conference with the 
minister of France, he began by laying down, as a question preliminary to all 
others, the delivery, which he had claimed for some days back, of the funds 
proceeding from the Penaud convention, which had been deposited in the de- 
pository of the provident fund. The correspondence relative to this affair, 
copies of which are transmitted to Mr. Fuente, will sufficiently enlighten him 
on the matter; but it should be added that Mr. de Saligny, feigning not to un- 
derstand the true reasons which have prevented the delivery of that fund, 
claims it by alleging a verbal promise which he says was made to him by the 
minister, Mr. Guzman, and even by IMr. Juarez, and by attaching importance 
to an order which he asserts that he obtained from Mr, Zarco. Mr. Guzman 
and Mr. Juarez deny having ever made such a promise, and they protest that 
they merely promised the replacement in the depository of the provident fund 
of the Penaud money, which on a day of ui'gency had been temporarily with- 
di'awn. As to the order of Mr. Zarco, there is no evidence of it in the depart- 
ment, and the present secretary of relations promised Mr. Saligny that, in case 
that order should be shown, the funds which he claimed would be delivered to 
him, and would not be included in the suspended payments. 

This took place at the conference which has been referred to, between the 
minister of relations and Mr. de Saligny, before the suspension was communi- 
cated officially to the latter, and the French minister left it to be understood in 
that conference that, on this preliminary question being adjusted, it would not 
be impossible to enter into colloquy in regard to the other points respecting the 
debt to France, and repeated the intimations which he had already given to Mr. 
Zarco, in regard to the need of Mexico for a breathing spell in order to pay her 
debt, and to the strong disposition which he, Mr. Saligny, had previously had to 
second the government in this respect. 

The day on which this conference took place was a holiday, and on the 
followinjfr day there was a discussion in the government relative to the delivery 
of the Penaud fund, it being taken for granted that the decree in regard to the 
suspension of payments had already been communicated to the English and 
French legations on the preceding evening. "When the secretary of relations 
was preparing to make known to the minister of France the terms on which the 
doliv(ny of the thirty-nine thousand dollars proceeding from the Penaud con- 
vention could be arranged, the insulting and threatening reply of Mr. de Saligny 
to the first note which the department of relations had addressed to him was 
received, and the character of that reply at once rendered all cordial understand- 
ing impossible. That reply was followed by others which Mr. Fuente will find 
in the correspond(;nce, of which a copy is transmitted to him, and which ter- 
minated in the suspension of official relations between the two legations and the 
government, and in the exchange of private notes, of which copies are also 
ti'ausmitted. 



58 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

In tliis coiTCspondence Mr. Fuente will find disclosed the principles whicli 
justify the conduct of the government as regards the suspension of the diplomatic 
conventions. It not having been possible to adjust this question in a reasonable 
way with the representatives of France and Englaxid in Mexico, the direct efforts 
which are being made for this purpose near the governments of those two coun- 
tries assume a great importance; and the government of Mexico, on seeing this 
necessity spring up, has had occasion to congratulate itself on the suitable choice 
which it has made, of Mr. Fuente, to represent it in France at a juncture like 
the present, when so much is expected of his proverbial patriotism and intelli- 
gence. 

The government, being in need of a representative at London, and it not 
being possible for it to send one with the promptitude which this case demands, 
has gone so far as to expect from the condescension of j\Ir. Fuente that, in 
addition to his present important functions, he will accept those of envoy extra- 
ordinary and minister plenipotentiary ad interim at London, especially accredited 
for the adjustment of the question to which the decree of the 17th of July has 
given rise. The government earnestly desires that Mr. Fuente may be able to 
make the personal fulfilment of this trust compatible with the duties which he 
is discharging at Paris, and which now have an important application to the 
efforts that the suspension of payment under the French convention renders 
necessary near the government of the Emperor, * * * * 

* * * * * # ** * * 

The preliminaries relative to what is personal in the matter being thus arranged, 
the following suggestions in regard to the steps which are rendered necessary 
in France and England, in the present state of the relations of Mexico with 
those two countries, have been deemed appropriate. 

First of all, it is important to modify the impression which may be made on 
the governments of England and France by the adulterated reports that their 
legations will transmit by this packet. In regard to this matter, the English 
and French ministers, but more especially the latter, besides picturing to their 
governments the suspension of payments in the hues of an actual spoliation, 
will endeavor to misrepresent the other provisions of order and economy which 
are contained in the decree of the 17th of July, and to weaken the confidence 
which the new system might inspire with respect to the Mexican government. 

The two ministers, whose estimates in regard to the condition of the country 
are singularly inaccurate, will assuredly say to their governments, for they say 
so even here, that the liberal party in Mexico is incapable of governing and 
administering the republic; that there are symptoms of dissolution in the 
existing government ; and that the early advent of some entity which shall 
personify compromise and the principle of order is inevitable. To Mr. Fuente, 
who fortunately knows so well the policy of Mexico, it is not necessary to 
point out hoA-sr artificial, unsubstantial, and impracticable is this policy of com-' 
promise which was imposed by the coup d'etat of 1857 and the events of 
Christmas, 1858, nor to say that the interests which have been created by the 
reform and the aspirations of the states which maintained the revolution for 
three years and made it triumph over colossal resistance form an insuperable 
obstacle to its development. 

They will likewise exaggerate the extortions and atrocities of which they 
may imagine the foreign residents in Mexico to be victims. Mr. Fuente must 
know that the government has hastened to afford reparation for damages which 
may have been occasioned to a few foreigners by the seizures of property for 
public use which have taken place during the late period ; and that the assassi- 
nation of Mr. Beale, an English subject, which occurred at Napoles, and what a 
few foreigners may have suffered in their persons, are the work of the reaction, 
w^hich atrocities the government is very anxious to put an end to, in providing 
itself with the necessary means of action. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 59 

Mr. Fuente will try to correct tlie exaggerated idea wliicli will not fail to be 
ti-ansmitted to Europe in regard to what is called tlie squandering of tlie national 
estates. Mr. Fuente is very well aware of tlie depreciation wliicli these have 
suffered diu-ing the three years of the revolution ; the considerable portion of the 
debt which, agreeably to law, has been extinguished with them ; the deductions 
which it has been requisite to make in order to obtain some redemptions for 
cjxsh, and which in the federal district alone and in two other dioceses amounted 
to ten millions of dollars ; and the existing rates for the payment of the public 
debt contained in the new decree. If Mr. Fuente deems it opportune, he can 
call attention to the circumstance that the men who have called loudest in the 
press for purity in operations of nationalization are exactly those who now form 
part of the ministry, and can remark that to obstruct now their reparatory action 
would be equivalent to obstructing the correction of the abuse in the name of 
the abuse itself. The representative of Mexico should bear in mind that the 
French residents in the republic are those who have gathered the best fruits of 
nationalization, and that at this time, beginning with some of the rich bankers 
of the capital, they deplore the conduct of the French minister, and are even 
talking of drawing up a representation against him if the complications which 
he is exciting on purpose are increased. 

It should not be forgotten that, in order to have him do this, Mr. de Saligny 
is moved by the influences of the clerical party, some of whose members are yet 
sheltered in the French legation, and keep up a regular correspondence with 
Marquez and other leading rebels. 

It is of great importance that a coiTCct idea should be formed in Europe of 
what the reaction in Mexico is, of its absolute want of political tendency, and 
of the hateful excesses to which it has abandoned itself, among which figiire a 
series of assassinations that, though committed on obscure persons, are not less 
odious than that of Mr. Ocampo. 

It would conduce also to the object of these instructions if the position in 
which this government was placed at the middle of this month were well under- 
stood, and how its purpose to provide means of action under every event has 
been the salvation of the capital and of the neighboring States, threatened with 
an inundation in which nobody would have suffered so much as the foreigners, 
who are the especial object of hatred to the clerical party. 

No more than justice will be done to the government ; but it is very important 
that it should be done, if the sovereigns of Europe are convinced of the firm 
and decided purpose which animates the present administration of the republic 
to shun the inveterate abuses which have rendered political revolutions in Mexico 
barren. It is important to place strongly in relief the spirit of order and morality 
which preceded the promulgation of the decree of the 171h, as well as to vindi- 
cate the decree against those who ascribe to it despoiling tendencies. It is very 
proper to call attention to the character of the institution created under the name 
of the Treasury Board. In the appointment of its members (the approval of 
whom is pending in the congress) the government has disregarded political 
shades, and has only sought integrity and business talent. In the hands of this 
board the revenues of nationalization will not be barren; and since among them 
there are many bills which have reached maturity, and capitals of chaplaincies 
which will mature in a short time, the suspension of payments may lie nominal 
for foreign creditors, and if they second the exertions of the board they may 
begin co make early collections of much importance. It would be well to let 
those who are interested in the debt,. and their respective governments, under- 
stau'l that the government of Mexico is not blindly smitten with the idea which 
pervades the decree of the 17th, and that it will accept any other that is com- 
patible with its views of order and general adaptation, and with its need of re- 
sources for the pacification of the country. In discussing the means of provi- 
ding them, the idea miiy have evolved from the necessity under which the gov- 



60 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

ernment found itself of increasing the duties of importation in case the revenue 
frotn maritime customs continued to be appropriated for the public debt, making 
the most of the contrary measure which the government has adopted in its lib- 
eral amendment to the tariff, and which it is going to submit for the approval of 
the congress. 

As the Englisli and Trench legations have no confidence in its justice at the 
bottom of the question, it is not strange that they should be anxious to present 
it in the light of an outrage on France and England to publish the decree with- 
out any previous notice. Mr. Fuente's intelligence is too great to render it re- 
quisite to insist on the necessity which has existed on one part to act thus, and 
on the right, on the other, which every debtor has to declare, without the pre- 
vious consent of his creditor, the simple fact that he suspends his payments for 
want of ability to make them, designating at the same time certain guarantees 
of security. In regard to this it will not be useless to repeat to Mr. Fuente 
that every step of the government and every private conference which has taken 
place in the matter has been marked by the same moderation and forbearance as 
are to be observed in the written correspondence. The foregoing directions are 
applicable to the question, as well in its relations to the government of England 
as in those to the government of France ; but there are some duties to be per- 
formed by you which have a respective fitness for each of these two countries. 
In England, besides correcting the erroneous ideas which may be conveyed by 
Sir Charles Wyke in regard to the condition of Mexico and to the future and 
tendencies of the present govei-nment, it would be very proper to present the 
question in its true light to the view of the bondholders and English merchants. 
The attention of the former might be called to the great inequality existing be- 
tween the parties interested in the English convention and the bondholders by 
exhibiting the prosj)ect that a general adjustment of the public debt could not 
but remedy to some extent this inequality. It would not be impossible to imbue 
the minds of the holders of Mexican bonds with the idea that the prosperity of 
this republic and the consolidation of its government are intimately allied with 
their interests. 

****** m 

As to what relates to France, it would be very proper to render evident the 
paltriness of the remainder to which the French convention is reduced, this 
being the only acknowledged and liquidated debt, as the Penaud agreement re- 
lates in great part to claims whose amount has not yet been fixed ; and the con- 
vention recently made with Mr. Zarco has not even been approved by the con- 
gress. It may contribute much towards counteracting the ill ofiices of Mr. 
Saligny to represent them as the continuation of Mr. Gabriac's system and as 
part of an intrigue, with the design that a diplomatic complication may bring 
matters to the recognition of the shameful Jecker business. In this there is an 
interested eflPort in behalf of an individual, who is not even a Frenchman, con- 
trary to the real interests of others who are subjects of the empire, creditors of 
Mexico, and settled in this country. 

******* 

For the completion of these instructions an idea must be given to Mr. Fuente 
of the political situation in which this country is placed at the present time. 

******* 

The reaction is represented in the bands of suspicious persons whom Mejia 
yet keeps in his hiding places in the mountain, and in those led by Marquez, 
who is still suiTOunded by the forces of the government, with the commanders 
of which some of the rebel chieftains have begun to enter into understand- 
ing. Some other parties, which appear here and there, are nothing more than 
bandits, who will come to an end now, when the government, provided with 
resources, can organize a pursuit of malefactors. The reaction, as a political 
tendency, is not very perceptible, and it is even suspected that it has been trans- 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 61 

fonned by invoking principles less equivocal and names less hateful tlian those 
of Marquez and Zuloaga. ***** 

While the force's of the government are intimidating or pursuing the reaction, 
the ministry, iu permanent council, is occupied with the administrative details, 
to which the decree of the 17th and the circular that accompanies it have re- 
lation. * * * * * * 

MANUEL MA. DE ZAMACONA. 

Mexico, July 29, 1861. 
A true copy. 

LUCAS DE PALAOIO Y MAGAROLA. 

Washington, September 21, 1861. 
A* true copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 3. 

[Trauslatioa.] 

Decree. 

The citizen Benito Juarez, constitutional president of the United Mexican 
States to the inhabitants, know ye : That the sovereign congress of the union 
has deemed it well to address me the following decree : 

Article 1. From the date of this law, the government of the tmion will 
recover the complete product of the federal revenues, deducting from them only 
the expenses of the administration of collecting, and all payments are suspended 
for two years, including the assignments for the loan made in London and for 
the foreign conventions. 

Art. 2. The maritime custom-houses and all the other collecting offices of 
the federal revenues will surrender all their products into the general treasury, 
bemg exclusively subject to the orders of the ministry of finances. On the 15th 
and on the last day of each month, they will forward to the ministry a state- 
ment of their receipts and disbursements. 

Art. 3. Within the term of one month, the government will form and publish 
an economical estimate of all public expenses, based on the estimate of the 31st 
December, 1855, conveniently reduced. The government is to subject itself to 
this economical estimate from the day of its publication, and congress only has 
the faculty of making changes afterwards. 

Art. 4. The payments in this estimate are to be made in the following man- 
ner : 

1. The armed force in campaign and in garrison; the material of war; the 
invalids and disabled soldiers. These payments arc to be made complete, but 
no surplus can be admitted. 

2. The civil list in active service, and the military list not in service. These 
payments, if under .$300, are to be made complete; if above $300, they are to 
be made in strict and equal proportion. 

3. The classes pensioned by tlie nation arc to be paid in strict and equal pro- 
poi'tion, if the classes above mentioned have been paid before, as is ordered by 
the decree. 

Art. 5. If an order, not included in the estimates, is sent to the general 
treasury by government, an observation must be made by a communication of 
the government: if repeated, the treasurer is to communicate it immediately to 



62 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

congress. If the treasurer does not make tlie observations here mentioned, he 
is to be destituted immediately. 

Art. 6. A superior committee of hacienda is instituted, composed of one 
president and four members named by government, with the sanction of congress. 
Two of them, at least, must be creditors of the nation. 

Art. 7. The attributes of the junta are the following: 

1. To pay the loan made in London and the foreign conventions. 

2. To pay the creditors not comprised in the law of the 30th November, 1850. 

3. To pay legal and posterior credits against the nation up to the 30th June 
of this year, including those comprised in the law of the 17th December, 1860. 

4. To receive the payment of what is due to the nation, if it be unknown to 
tlie collecting offices. » 

5. To administer and sell the nationalized clergy property, and to execute all 
the attributes of the law of disamortization and nationalization. 

6. To make arrangements, with the sanction of government, with all the per- 
sons interested in, or that have any business relative to, nationalized property. 

7. To distribute all the funds collected amongst the creditors of the nation. 
The product of the suppressed convents is to be applied to the creditors of tlie 
conducta of Laguna Seca, and after covering the estimates of the nunneries, the 
remainder is to be distributed to the creditors in the foreign conventions. 

Art. 8. In order that the junta may be able to fill the attributes conferred 
upon it by government, the following is assigned to it : 

All the "pagares" existing in the special disamortization office; the product 
of all pending redemption ; the capitals not redeemed belonging to the nation, 
the buildings of the suppressed convents, the lands, and ail existmg materials. 
In the States and territories all the lands, convents, and buildings comprised in 
the law of nationalization, and all the products, except the 20 per cent, belonging 
to the same States and territories. The buildings and capitals expressly ex- 
cepted by government are not comprised in this article. 

Art. 9. All this property will form a fund distinct of public credit ; the em- 
ployers in the district, the chiefs ("gefes superiores") of the finance department 
in the States and territories are to forward immediately to the junta the titles, 
deeds, notices, and corresponding documents. 

Art. 10. In the special law published for the conversion of public debt, the 
part to be delivered by the States is to be fixed and regulated. 

Art. 11. The government is authorized to publish a decree taxing tobacco; 
this tax is to be collected for the federal treasury in all the republic. 

Art. 12. The government is authorized to increase, during the remaining 
months of this year, the alcabala of one-half per cent, more on national pro- 
ducts, excepting the articles of agricultural and manufacturing industry specified 
in the decree of the 24th September, 1855. 

Art. 13. The duty of " contra-registro " on foreign goods is increased to 
double in the district ; this increase is to be paid as long as the government may 
deem it necessary to fulfil the object of the following article. 

Art. 14. With the new product of the acabala, the "contra-registro" and 
the tax imposed upon tobacco, the government will pay with preference all the 
debts contracted from the 29th of last May, and all those that it may contract 
for the re-establishment of public tranquillity, leaving extant all the orders thai 
have been given on account of " refacciones " for the payment of the money 
taken in Laguna Seca. 

Art. 15. The governors of States, and the employ(5s of the collecting de- 
partment, have no intervention whatever in the federal revenues. 

Art. 16. The government is authorized to reform and organize within one 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 63 

month all tlie offices on sncli a base that their estimates be rednced, and is 

authorized to increase the salaries of some employe's, and to reduce their number. 

Given iu the sessions hall of the cono'ress of the union on the 17th of July, 1861. 

GABINO BUSTAMANTE, Deputy Fresident. 

FRANCISCO CENDEJAS, Secretary. 

E. ROBLES GIL, Deputy Secretary. 

For which I order that it be printed, published, circulated, and given due 
respect. 

Given in the national palace in Mexico, the 17th July, 1861. 

BENITO JUAREZ. 



No. 4. 

[Translation.] 

Secretaryship of State 
A\D OF THE Office of Eoreign Relations, 

Mexico, July 18, 1861. 

Most Excellent Sir : The persons whom the most excellent the president 
of the republic has honored by calling them to foiln his present cabinet esteem, 
as is just, this mark of confidence ; but they comprehend that they need besides 
that of the nation, in order to labor with a probability of success in the develop- 
ment of refoi-m, in the arrangement of public administration, and in the pacifica- 
tion of the country ; and they wish, therefore, that then' practical views for 
obtaining these results may have the greatest publicity. 

Neither the most excellent the president nor his ministers deceive themselves 
in regard to the public situation ; but, on the contrary, they believe that the 
bold purpose of confronting it in all its difficulties is the chief title which they 
can present to the sympathy of the nation. In order to form this purpose, the 
present ministers have had an example in the serene and fervent faith of the 
chief magistrate of the republic in the future of Mexico, and an incentive in the 
conviction which they entertain that there are not wanting in the country 
elements to raise it from its present prostration, and that it only needs the work 
of organization which accidental circumstances had hitherto rendered impossible 
for the government. The present one has now a very firm will to undertake 
it ; and, seconded, as it doubtless wUl be, by the good sense of the country and 
by the kindness of friendly nations, it expects finally to overcome the obstacles 
which have heretofore prevented administration from being organized and con- 
solidated in Mexico, and the fruits of political revolutions from being witnessed. 
The confidence, therefore, and hope of the government to control the present 
situation is not alone based on the firmness of its purposes, but on the acknowl- 
edged patriotism of the representatives of the nation, and on the prudence of 
Mexicans and of foreigners who have linked their interests with the fate of the 
rojniblic. The new cabinet, in laying down the ideas which are to serve as a 
i-ule for their administrative movement, cannot lay claim to the merit of 
originality, nor do anything else than give official form to the instinct of reor- 
ganization, morality and economy which for some time past has been developing 
itself among the majority of Mexicans. In vain have the people washed with 
their blood all the political principles ; in vain have they sought from them 
fruits of prosperity and welfare ; in vain have they just effected a great revolu- 
tion which shall in the future be an escutcheon of pride for Mexico as honorable 
as that of her independence. The instinct of the nation, enlightened by decep- 
tions and frustrated hopes, has comprehended that revolutions will be barren, 
and that the elements conquered on political and social ground will afford no 
fruit unless the work be crowned Avith administrative revolution. The reform 



64 TEE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

whicli the Mexican people have proclaimed and put in practice leads to the con- 
quest of great material and moral measures for the public prosperity; but the 
revolutionary and reformatory labor has still to enter its last and final, its 
organic period, in which the great Mexican revolution will yield fruit to the 
country, to civilization, and to mankind. 

The revolution must now assume a new phase ; it is no longer chai-acterized 
by the antagonism of two political princij)les. An immense majority of the 
nation is on the side of liberty and progress ; and the monuments of tyranny 
and fanaticism having disappeared, the reform places its foot on the groimd of 
administration. Administrative questions of order, of safety, almost of police, 
are those which occupy the public mind to the exclusion of others. To ex- 
terminate the reactionary bands whose number is not sufficient to give them 
political character, they themselves not claiming this, and who are now reduced 
to bodies of rascally conspirators against the property, honor and lives of the 
citizens ; to reorganize and expedite the administration of justice, in order that 
the law may be inexorably applied to the enemies of the public peace ; to re-es- 
tablish security on the principal routes of communication ; to regulate the postal 
service ; to abolish, as soon as possible, all irregular and vexatious imposts ; to 
give encouragement to all branches of the national prosperity ; and to render 
visible and palpable the revolution which the Mexican people have effected — 
these are the objects which at present preoccupy the national mind. 

For the attainment of them the treasury question has a special importance. 
Generalized as are opinions and interests throughout the republic in favor of 
liberal reform, it is only requisite to provide the legitimate power, with efficient 
means of repression against certain interests, in a minority, ■\\'hich are opposed 
to the national tendency. The country does not lack those elements of action 
which the government needs, and all that is necessary is to organize them under 
a foreseeing, methodical, and economical administration. 

For this eminently practical work the government has not to go back into the 
speculative sphere, nor will follow any other inspiration than that of a solicitous 
and honored father of a family, who wishes in good faith to put the domestic 
finances in order. The nation has material and moral elements enough to pre- 
vent its leading a life of anxieties and discredit ; it needs nothing more than 
order, economy, uprightness, to escape from these troubles and disgraces ; and 
the government, in adopting resolutely this system, has no other merit than 
that of taking for the rule of its future conduct a determination which the blows 
of adversity have commended to the general approval of the nation. 

The new ministry does not believe in the necessity of making a profession of 
political faith, because, in its judgment, the period is begiiming to arrive when 
politics is no longer to be the question of the day. Mexico belongs decidedly 
and irrevocably to reform and democracy, and it will be sufficient for the govern- 
ment to declare, although the antecedents of the citizen charged with the execu- 
tive power would excuse him even from this, that it professes all the principles 
of the progresista creed and which are contained in the constitution and in the 
laws of reform. This is already a fact, and it has only been necessary that it 
should be drawn from the confusion and elevated to the rank of a solid and 
regulated institution. 

In order that the legitimate power may not descend to the level of the van- 
dalic bands who destroy the republic, it will not contend against them by 
devastating and destroying, but by repairing and organizing. It is an ei-ror to 
suppose that every attempt at organization ought to be postponed until society 
has no enemies to battle against. The labors of organization are exactly those 
which will bring about a final triumph over the enemies of society; and only 
the power which succeeds in organizing society will place on a secure basis the 
conquests of the revolution. 

The government, therefore, instead of contending from revolutionist to revo- 
lutionist — instead of adopting robbery and spoliation as a, means of action, 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 65 

wislies to confine itself to tlie system of tutelary powers which save society 
without harming it. 

The peculiar character of the epoch into which the revolution has entered 
and of the cabinet which has just been organized consists in this, and the gov- 
ernment earnestly desires that this character may be put as much in relief as 
possible in the eyes of the nation. Notwithstanding this, and that the ministry 
professes with faith, with plenitude, and with fervor the principles of reform, 
this will not be the only word which it will inscribe on the frontispiece of its 
work, but it will add those of reorganization, order, econotny, and inorality. 

But it does not write them as they have been so often written in political 
programmes ; it employs them as the outcry of national opinion, which has 
opened a road for itself at last to official regions ; it utters them not as a mere 
word, but as the echo of an intimate and vehement conviction, not as a promise, 
but as a fact, as a series of measures which from this very day begin to be put 
in practice. If the government succeeds in having the firmness, depth, and 
penetration of its resolutions for creating and moralizing the public administra- 
tion understood from the tone of its voice ; if it succeeds in causing to be per- 
ceived the novelty of this tendency from its dominant and almost exclusive 
character ; if it succeeds in having its labors considered as a powerful effort to 
satisfy the instinct of order and reorganization which has been formed in the 
country under the influence of experience and of misfortunes ; if it obtains that 
in this manifestation may be seen the announcement of the day, long waited for, 
and which must arrive at some time, in which the sphit of economy and repara- 
tion may transform what for a long while has been in our society a chaos in 
which no political principle could fructify, it is certain that the measures with 
which it inaugurates its new march, after the halt which circumstances have 
compelled it to make for a few days, will be considered not as a new revolu- 
tionary convulsion, but as the first sign that matters in Mexico are beginning to 
be composed and to be placed on a solid basis. 

It has heretofore sufficed that the nation, plunged into a morass, should make 
unusual exertions to get out of it, but succeed only in sinking deeper at every 
step. It is now time that it should seek a firm spot whereon to place its foot, 
so as to gather up all which it has been able to save from the flood, and to 
secure its own interests and those of the foreigners Avho have confided in its 
integrity. 

The government cannot furnish peace, safety, and progress to the inhabitants 
of the republic, nor observe hereafter scrupulous fidelity in its compacts, if it 
is not allowed to breathe for a moment free from the burdens which have op- 
pressed it, to gather up its resources, and to regulate those sacrifices which it 
has never ceased to make, but which have been barren to the country and its 
creditors for want of regularity. Between chaos and administrative reorgani- 
zation, between the revolutionary tempest and the prosperous future which the 
refoi-m promises to the republic, it is necessary that there should intervene a day 
of reclusion, of review, of classification, in which the country might unite all its 
elements and organize them, in order to apply them immediately to the fulfilment 
of its engagements. This work, far from alarming any legitimate interest, ought 
to inspire faith and to tranquillize everybody, since it is ecjuivaleut to placing 
the obligations of the republic on a solid and permanent guarantee, which they 
have never had. The creditors of Mexico have been living in an edifice with- 
out foundations, and the government now wishes not to dislodge tlunn, but that 
they should leave the place disencumbered for a few days, in order that the 
building may be strengthened, which was threatening ruin. 

This is the meaning and this will be the practical result of the annexed decree, 
which, on the proposition of the ministry, has just been carried by a vote of the 

II. Ex. Doc. 100 5 



SQ THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

federal congress. It tends to put in play tlic means whicli intelligent opinion 
lias for some time past indicated as tlic only efficacious ones for creating a public 
treasury in Mexico, and for rendering the exertions of the government in re- 
establishhig order and peace not imfruitful ; it tends to render impossiljle here- 
after the abuses which have made barren for the people, properly so called, the 
reforms proclaimed and carried into effect during the late period ; it tends to 
turning to profit the treasures which yet remain of the national states by apply- 
ing them to the important object of paying off the public debt ; it tends to 
place on the government itself a wholesome restraint by means of the formation 
of a budget which will be the most economical of all which have been prepared ; 
it tends to impose restrictions and conditions on the administrative power, as 
far as reason will permit ; it tends to pass the level of proportionate distribution 
over all citizens whom the nation has to remunerate for any service ; it tends to 
abolish every preference which is not based on the public convenience ; it tends 
to limit the powers of the states and of the federal government in treasury mat- 
ters by re-establishing the legal bounds which disappeared during the revolu- 
tion, and without which there is no possible order or administration ; and it 
tends, finally, to insure the compensation of the judicial power, without which 
civil guarantees will be ever nominal, and impossible that stern and inexorable 
justice which should be applied to the disturbers of the public peace. 

Society, for whom these advantages are in preparation, for which it has hun- 
gered and thirsted for some time, will not complain if, in return, some sacrifice is 
demanded of it. Nor will the susceptibilities of the local aixthorities be hurt, 
if they are inspired alone by their patriotism, to Avhich the republic appeals 
through the voice of the federal government, and if they consider that this is 
the first which begins by imposing restraints and clogs on itself in order that it 
may be quick only for the welfare of the nation and in economising its revenues. 

The government has succeeded in having the national representation do jus- 
tice to these views, and it experiences more pleasure than it would feel in speaking 
of a beneficent proposition exclusively its own in declaring that the movement 
to whicli the annexed decree is due has done nothing more than anticipate the 
chamber's inclination for order, morality, and economy. In this it naturally 
reflects national opinion, which sees that the time has arrived for measures 
suitable for guarding against the ruin to which the republic has been drawing 
nigh, and from which no merely political revolution could save it. The congress 
not only has accepted, but has completed and perfected this idea of the govern- 
ment, which may be called revolution in administration — administrative reform 
which comes to crown political and social reform. If the idea be seconded by 
the state authorities, if it be seconded by public opinion, which has preluded it 
for some days past, if it be seconded, as is to be hoped, by the friendly nations 
whose experience has counselled IMexico for so long a time to enter into the path 
of economy and order, this country, from which other nations of the earth have 
expected so much, will commence finally to pay its contingent to universal civili- 
zation. There will be security, peace, and prosperity in Mexico ; the adminis- 
tration of justice, properly organized and compensated, will render the laws 
effective; the reactionary bands, placed between the energetic pursuit of the 
armed force and the inflexible action of the courts, will cease to devastate the 
land; the general police will re-establish security on the public roads; trade and 
commerce will be revived ; capital, which in some countries cannot aspire to 
more than a paltry interest, and which in others is at present threatened by 
great convulsions, will move without fear to the republic, at the same time that 
colonists are coming to settle in it and to render fruitful a thousand schemes of 
material improvement which the public insecurity keeps barren. The govern- 
ment does not wish to flatter the nation with pleasing prospects only, nor must 
it speak further than of the first labors undertaken after the reorganization 
of the cabinet, because its purpose is that deeds shall serve as a programme. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 67 

At tlie veiy time of proposing tlae annexed decree, it has taken steps tliat before 
long will afford security on tlie roads of tlie interior and Vera Cruz, and "sWU 
re-establisli tlie regular postal service on tliese two highways. Into the pur- 
poses of the ministry enter measures of security on a large scale, and the 
realization of which is intertwined with that of the annexed, decree, because the 
question of security is also a question of resources. 

For the purpose of using all the regular force to pursue the remains of the 
reaction, the government is laboring earnestly in perfecting the establishment of 
the national guard in the district, and in purging it from the abuses which on 
other occasions have corrupted it, and which lately began to be visible. The 
government, which has the firm purpose of extirpating forever from the army of 
the republic the thousand corruptions which have made of the military budget 
the cask of the Danaides, and of putting an end to the shameful contracts which 
only have served to build up great fortunes on the ruins of the public treasury, 
could ill permit those same abuses to be implanted in the order of citizen militia. 
Yielding to the indications of public opinion, and wishing to lose not a minute 
in giving impulse to the branches of public prosperity, at the same time that it 
is engaged in foirming propositions and in gathering statistical data necessary to 
put in practice the constitutional principle in regard to the abolition of internal 
custom-houses in the republic, the government has proposed in the congress to 
suspend that part of the decree of the 8th of April of this year, in which it has 
been provided that the payment of duties of importation may be made with 
fifteen per centum additional in shares of the interoceanic railroad, and it has 
formed a plan for the amendment of the tariff in a liberal sense, setting out 
most especially to improve in good faith the condition of commerce, which has 
been so much damaged by smuggling. The ulterior labors of the ministry will 
have reference to reforms equally modest, but no less absolute and important. 

The government is confident of realizing them, and is firmly resolved to do 
so by organizing, so to speak, the reform, and by making it fruitful through the 
medium of administration, provided it meets with support and sympathy-in the 
country, and with kindness and a spirit of equity in friendly nations, as is to 
be expected from their own interest and from that which they take in the civili- 
zation of the human race. Should it be thus, the government will have con- 
tributed in its sphere to the salvation of the republic ; in the contrary case, it 
will succumb with the consciousness of liaA^ng embarked in a noble enterprise, 
and with the dignity of taking no step backward in its radically organizing 
tendencies. 

The federal government relies, for the realization of the measures to which 
the annexed decree relates, and of others which are to follow, on the efficient 
co-operation of your excellency, whose patriotism cannot but impel you to unite 
in a reform which will render fecund all the others that the nation has con- 
quere:!, and whose practical barrenness is being made an argument of bad faith 
against the progresista revolution. 

The undersigned avail themselves of this opportunity of tendering to your 
excellency the assurances of their distinguished consideration. 
God, liberty, and refonn. 

ZAMACONA. 

RUIZ. , 

BALCARCEL. 

ZARAGOZA. 

NUNEZ. 
, His Excellency the Governor of the State of . 

Washingto.v, Scptemhcr 21, 1861. 
A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



68 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 5. 
Sir C. Wyhe to Scnor Zamacona. 

Mexico, July 19, 1861. 

Sir : A printed paper, as strange in compilation as in tlie nature of its con- 
tents, was tliis day hawked about the principal thoroughfares of the city, and 
has now, I see, been reprinted in the columns of this evening's " Siglo." 

According to the wording of this document, it would appear that congress has 
thought fit to make a free gift of other people's property to the government of 
the republic, by suspending, for the space of two years the payment of all 
assignments, as well to the London bondholders as to the parties interested in 
the foreign conventions. 

Until I hear from you to the contrary, I am bound to consider this announce- 
ment in the light of a falsehood ; for I cannot bring myself to believe that a 
government which respects itself could sanction a gross violation of its most 
sacred obligations to other nations, and then proclaim the fact of their having 
done so in a manner which, if possible, aggravates the offence. 

That the representatives of those nations who are thus slighted and injured 
should be allowed to learn, in the first instance, by handbills circulated in the 
streets, that you have repudiated your engagements, is as unaccountable as the 
policy which could dictate a measure alike fatal to the character and credit of 
the republic. 

I will not dwell on other obnoxious paragraphs of this publication, as at 
present I cannot believe it to be authentic ; for when yoiu- excellency did me 
the honor of calling on me to-day you in no way alluded to a subject which 
would otherwise surely have formed the chief topic of your conversation. 

Awaiting a reply at your earliest convenience, I avail, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



No. 6. 

[Translation.) 
MEXICAN EEPUBLIC, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

Legation of France in Mexico, 

Mexico, July 20, 1861. 

Mr. Minister : There has for thirty-six hours been circulating through the 
principal streets of the capitol, under the signature of his excellency the presi- 
dent of the republic, a printed document, as extraordinary in form as in sub- 
stance, and which has been repubHshed by several dailies .among others, by 
the " Siglo XIX" of yesterday. 

It treats of nothing less than a law approved the 17th July, by congress, 
and sanctioned on the same day by the president, in which, by the first article, 
-VAdthout making mention of other completely inadmissable provisions, the sus- 
pension of payment upon the foreign conventions for two years is ordered. 

It seems to me superfluous to say to you, Mr. Minister, that 1 have had no 
hesitation in considering this document as apocryphal and false. 

In fixct, I would have thought that I was doing injustice to your government 
by believing it capable of acting thus, disregarding its most sacred obligations 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 69 

in regard to the lawful property of anotlier, and taking part in an attempt, as 
audacious as insensate, upon the rights and dignity of France ; an attempt the 
more insulting even, if that be possible, because of the absolute silence observed by 
the government towards the minister of his imperial Majesty upon this pretended 
law of the 17th of July, before and after the vote in congress, and the approval 
by the president. 

I am, therefore, persuaded, Mr. Minister, that you will hasten to disavow an 
act which, without speaking of the terrible and inevitable consequences to which 
it will expose Mexico, will only compromise in the gravest manner its character 
for loyalty and its credit. And in the hope of prompt and satisfactory reply 
from your excellency I avail myself of this occasion to renew to you my as- 
surances of most distinguished consideration. 

A. DE SALIGNY. 

His Excellency Mr. Zamacona, 

Mmisterjbr Foreign Relations of the 

Republic of Mexico. 

Mexico, My 27, 1861, 
True copy. 

LUCAS DE PALACIO Y MAGAROLA. 

Washington, September 21, 1861. 
Copy. 

KOMERO. 



No. 7. 

[Translation ] 

MEXICAN LEGATION AT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Mexican Republic, Department of Foreign Affairs, 

National Palace, Mexico, July 21, 1861. 

The undersigned, &c., has the honor to inform his excellency Sir 0. Lennox 
Wyke, &c., that the decree which forms the enclosure to this note has passed 
the federal congi-ess of the republic, and that the undersigned brings it to the 
cognizance of his excellency on account of its connexion with the diplomatic 
conventions and their payments. 

From the known ability and sound sense of her Britannic Majesty's minister, 
the Mexican government are led to hope that his excellency, so far from seeing 
in the above decree any cause for alarm on account of those interests which are 
under the protection of the British legation, will, on the contrary, perceive in 
this act of the legislature a proof that the republic is anxious to arrive at an 
estimate of their resources ; to organize those resources in the most profitable 
manner ; to cut at the root of such abuses as have hitherto brought censure upon 
the government, the supreme power being the first to submit to the restrictions 
and other conditions necessary for this object ; and at the same time to place 
the engagements and obligations of the nation upon such a footing as will insure 
them ill future a sure and lasting inviolability. 

To fulfil faithfully their international compacts the Mexican government have 
made almost superhuman efforts, and can show results of no ordinary kind, 
such, for instance, as the present balance-sheet of the Mexican debt, whereby 
it is seen that no very notable change has been brought about therein by the 



70 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

coiatinuoiis state of revolution. During tliis crisis, on the contrary, tire position 
of foroig-n creditors lias improved ; in the midst of its greatest embarrassments 
the nation has gone even so far as to increase the rate of interest for paying off 
the public debt, and has thus deprived itself of the very means which were at 
its disposal for terminating the civil war ; in other words, the nation has paid its 
creditors their gold with the blood of its citizens. 

Since the revolution began the republic has been thirsting after peace, 
order, and security ; yet the government, fully convinced though they were of 
being able to right themselves if only they could count upon any means that 
would really admit of action, hesitated long before laying hands upon the funds 
destined for the payment of their foreign debt. So great, indeed, was their re- 
sj^ect for these funds, that they preferred to sacrifice their obligations to Mexi- 
cans, to trample under foot the most cherished principles of their country, nay, 
even to imprison persons of the highest respectability, in order to obtain re- 
sources from the sums paid for their release, rather than touch a cent of the 
assignments destined for the diplomatic conventions and the London debt. 

So hateful an expedient, although it has served to prove their good faith to- 
ward other nations, has not been and never can be efficacious ; so that the gov- 
ernment has now to start afresh, as they should do, upon different principles, 
and with the fixed purpose of thoroughly reorganizing their plan of administra- 
tion, and of having recourse, not to temporary expedients, but such a system of 
taxation as from its nature will, while adding fresh vigor to government, abolish 
once and for all the old system of forced imposts. 

To carry out this principle the republic has need of its entire revenue, and 
of conscientious and practical persons to administer the same, and this is the 
intention of the law which the undersigned has the honor of placing in Sir 
Charles Wyke's hands. 

The present government of the republic has to meet, on the one hand, the 
demands of society and civilization for order, and guarantees, on the other, those 
of the foreign creditors for nearly the entirety of the public revenue. So cir- 
cumstanced, no government could hesitate as to the course to be taken. 

The nation, then, has yielded to the cry of society and civilization, has given 
way before a pressure too heavy for it to bear, bu.t it has done so merely in order 
to recover strength and then return to the charge. 

The government of the undersigned originated the measures contained in the 
enclosed decree, and possibly they are the first rulers in the country who have 
religiously and honestly undertaken seriously to consider the nature of their 
obligations, and to discover the best means of meeting them. 

It is impossible for Mexico to attempt any administrative reform or the re- 
establishment of peace and order if she has to support the burden of the national 
debt. 

To enable her, however, to remove whatever has led to those numerous ques- 
tions which have so incessantly occupied the attention of foreign representatives 
and the finance department, and to do away with the system of forced imports ; 
to enable her to free herself from the necessity of breaking through her own 
liberal principles and overtaxing foreign imports ; to enable her, in short, to 
procure some portion of the money now paid by the maritime custom-houses 
toward the extinction of the debt, it is necessary she should be allowed a short 
respite wherein to recover herself, as well as the full use for a few days of her 
entire revenue. In that case, by proper management and economy, public order 
and tranquility would be re-established, and the revenue of the country, with 
the exception of what was absokitely requisite for the proper protection of 
society, set apart to meet the payment of arrears. 

The government of the undersigned considers that a debtor, so long as he is 
actuated by honorable feelings and a full .determination to carry out his engage- 
ments, does not forfeit his dignity in presenting himself to his creditor and 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 71 

frankly confessing lie is, though temporarily so, unable to pay Lis debts ; and 
tlie sole object which that government now has in view is, to prove to the world 
that they are really and truly resolved upon attempting administrative reforms 
in the country, as the only means left likely to produce any amelioration in its 
political condition. They perfectly understand that they have to struggle 
against the unfavorable impression caused by the abuses and irregularities al- 
lowed in former times, yet it does not escape them that they have inherited this 
fresh difficulty in addition to the others which they have now to combat, though 
tliey are not ashamed of such difficulties, inasmuch as this is no exceptional 
case in the annals of Mexican revolutions, nor is it the work of the present ad- 
ministration. 

A nation, like an individual, has the right to ask to be judged by its own acts, 
and not according to preconceived prejudices or partial comparisons. 

When the president of the republic convened the members of the present 
government, they each and all, with heartfelt sincerity and honesty of purpose, 
hailed the idea of at once fearlessly grappling with the difficulties of the problem, 
upon the solution of which depended the great question of reform. They saw 
tliat the nation lacked not the material elements of such a work, but merely 
their proper organization. Nor were moral elements wanting ; for were there 
not proofs to the contrary in the general longing for the time when, upon the 
spurious and self-interested promises of a frivolous and corrupt minority, there 
should be built up lasting institutions, under whose protecting influence Mexicans 
and foreigners alike would deem their honor, lives, and property secure 1 The 
government saw that the nation was weary of its state of anarchy, that it cursed 
file abuses and the recklessness which had brought upon it discredit and ruin ; 
they saw, in fact, that the majority in the country asked but honesty of purpose 
from the ruling power, and they did not hesitate to consecrate their efibrts ex- 
clusively to respond to so just a call. 

The cabinet of which the undersigned is a member takes pride in its firmness 
of purpose, and considers that it merits the sympathy and co-operation of foreign 
representatives, whose presence in the republic is not solely for the protection 
of specified interests or nationalities, since their mission is equally one dedicated 
to the cause of humanity and civilization. 

Sad indeed would it be if history had one day to recount how that this country, 
after the most trying vicissitudes, came to be ruled over by men who, without 
any supernatural gifts and animated solely by their patriotism and their experi- 
esQce, shrunk not from making one final eff'ort — an effi)rt such as never yet had 
been made — to establish in Mexico the rule of reason and morality, yet that this 
efibrt was shipwrecked on the prejudices and scepticism of the most enlightened 
nations of the world in respect to Mexico's future and Mexico's capabilities for 
reform. 

Every imjiartial person must look upon what is now passing as a proof of the 
energy and loyalty which Mexico is displaying in her endeavors to attain that 
position which reason and prudence dictates. Government, at the outset, has 
procured and dedicated to the interests of the public debt all the national prop- 
esrty. They have initiated a system of economy which is already in operation ; 
and, as a result thereof, have imposed upon themselves and their subordinates 
such restrictions and self-denial as have never yet been imposed by any fonner 
administration. They have further been occupied with the details of a pro- 
gramme based upon those principles of economy which experience has proved 
to be necessary. Great progress, too, has been made toward establishing public 
order and tranquility by the steps taken by government, for tracing out clearly 
the position which the States hold in respect to the supreme federal power. 
Moreover, the departments of state now are denied to those who would hold 
office simply to speculate in the gains of the reigning disorder and confusion, 
and the present rulers of Mexico would sooner smk under their difficulties than 



72 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

yield an incli of the ground on whicli they have taken their &tand in defence of 
reform and morality. 

All those who have interests in the country — all, indeed, who would see civ- 
ihzation on the increase — should aid the government in attaining the objects 
they have in view, instead of throwing obstacles in their way. The great 
Eui-opean powers are extending their sympathies at the present hour to those 
countries who are striving to join the rest of mankind in the great work of civ- 
ilization, and Mexico would fain hope that she is not alone to be excepted. 

The very creditors of Mexico themselves should, the undersigned thinks, in 
their own interests, feel that great encouragement is given to them at the present 
moment; for it is not the republic alone that is now concerned in the proper 
regulation of the public debt under surer guarantees, and in the necessity of 
consolidating the same. The creditors of the nation have even a higher interest 
at stake, inasmuch as by no other means than those already mentioned can they 
expect to obtain greater advantages than those they now possess, notwithstand- 
ing that they have gradually acquned for themselves almost the entire revenue 
of the country. 

This very circumstance is regarded, and with reason, as a proof of non-stability, 
while it ecjually produces distrust in people's minds, a state of things no less 
prejudicial to the republic generally than to its creditors. 

Upon this point natural instinct cannot be deceived. As matters now stand, 
whether in respect to the country or the creditors, it might be possible that the 
drain upon the revenue could be continued for the space of a few months, but 
it would be possible only at the price of certain ruin alike to the country and 
the creditors. 

Had the government hesitated to adopt the measures for a radical financial 
reform, to which sufficient reference has already been made, they would have 
been either compelled, against their principles and inclination, to impose fresh 
taxes upon foreign importations, or quietly to submit to every interest con- 
nected with social order being swallowed up in the flood of anarchy — an idea too 
horrible to be thought of. 

To avoid either of these extremes the government, guided by their conscience 
and feelings of patriotism, suggested the plan contained in the enclosed decree. 
If, as it is to be hoped, it should meet with support and sympathy from other 
nations, Mexico would be able to raise her voice and proclaim aloud that she 
had entered upon the one road that could lead to her salvation. Should it be 
otherwise, the nation must perish, and with her all those interests which are so 
closely connected with her future prosperity. Be this as it may, the govern- 
ment that in these stormy days rules over the destiny of Mexico will have had 
the honor and glory of initiating and doing battle for the only means left that 
could save their country. 

The undersigned would feel obliged to her Majesty's envoy extraordinary if 
his excellency would transmit a copy of this note to his government, and avail 
himself, &c. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA. 

Mexico, July 29, 1861. 
True coj)y. 

LUCAS DE PALACIO Y MAGAROLA. 

"Washington, September 21, 1861. 
Tme copy. 

ROMEEO. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 73 

[Translation.] 

No. 8. 

MEXICAN KEPUBLIC, MINISTRY OF FOEEIGN KELATIONS. 

National Palace, Mexico, July 21, 1S61. 

Tlie undersigned, minister for foreign relations, lias the honor to answer the 
note which his excellency the minister of France has been pleased to address to 
him in relation to the decree passed on the 17th instant bj the federal congress, 
and in which provision is made for the suspension of all payments, including 
that of the debt contracted in London, and that of the diplomatic conventions. 

This decree is perfectly authentic, and his excellency the minister of France 
would have had no occasion to express his doubt tipon this point in the note to 
which this serves for answer, if his occupations would have allowed him to 
receive the undersigned, who went yesterday to the French legation as soon as 
the decree mentioned was communicated to his department by that of finance, 
in order to make to his excellency Mr. de Saligny some confidential explanations 
before officially communicating to him the resolution of congress. 

The undersigned had the ill-fortune to find his excellency the minister of 
France occupied and invisible, and had to return to this department to solicit, 
as he did, a private conference by means of a note which he despatched to the 
French legation before receiving the note which Mr. de Saligny pleased to send 
him at the close of the afternoon, and to which I have now the honor to reply. 

The undersigned flatters himself with the hope that the reading of the law, 
which he remitted in a separate note to his excellency the minister of France, 
will suffice with his excellency to rectify the opinion which he expresses in his 
letter of yesterday on the ground that the decree of congress does not arbi- 
trarily dispose of any property, nor break any of the ties of obligation which 
bind the republic. The said decree and the note with which the undersigned 
had the honor to send it to the French legation, are, on the contrary, a vhtual 
ratification of the international engagements of Mexico, accompanied, also, by a 
ffank and loyal declaration that she could not at once fulfil them without preju- 
dice to public order and to peace, and withoiit endangering tjie very existence 
of the nation. In this declaration, Mr. Minister, is neither audacity nor folly ; 
but, on the contrary, a melancholy submission to the law of necessity, and a 
prudent recourse to the only expedient which can save the republic from 
auai'chy. 

Truly, the undersigned does not comprehend in what manner the dignity of 
France can be offended by this protest made by an impoverished nation ; that 
it is not possible for it without some breathing time to continue carrying, at 
heavy costs, the weight of debt by which it is oppressed. 

This declaration refers only to a fact which has long since been proclaimed. 
There is no reason for considering as an insult that the republic, reduced to the 
last extremities, has declared the fact officially and solemnly, without previously 
a.sking the consent of its creditors. 

His excellency the minister of France has the goodness to give the uuder- 
signcd a hint of the terrible results to which the step which occasions this note 
may give place, and upon the influence it would have on the credit of the nation 
and on the belief in its loyalty ; and the undersigned must frankly answer that 
the government, full of a confidence which it does not fear will be disappomted 
in the good will and equity of friendly nations, has not supposed that a greater 
evil could threaten the republic than social dissolution and anarchy, and that 
this act of menace does more injury to its credit than the frank and honest 



74 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

declaration that its obligations, whicli it new holds in greater respect and 
acknowledges more tliau ever, exceed at this moment its ability to meet them. 

The midersigned takes the liberty to refer to the note whiclx he addressed to 
his excellency Mr. de Saligny, transmitting with it the decree of the 17th 
instant, and concludes by reneAving the assurances of his distinguished con- 
sideration. 

MANUEL MA. DE ZAMACONA. 
His Excellency Mr. A. de Saligny, 

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 

of his Majesty the Emperor of the French. 

Mexico, July 29, 1861. 
True copy. 

LUCAS DE PALACIOS Y MAGAROLA. 

Washington, September 21, 1861. 
True copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 9. 

[Translation.] 

Sefior Zamacona to Sir C. Wyhe. 

Mexico, July 21, 1861. 

The undersigned, minister for foreign affairs, has had the honor of receiving 
from his excellency Sir Charles Lennox Wyke, her Britannic Majesty's envoy 
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, the note in which his excellency re- 
quests to be informed whether the decree of the federal congress providing for 
a total suspension of payments, not excepting those of the London bondholders 
and diplomatic conventions, is or is not authentic. 

His excellency's request might have been looked on as anticipated by the 
explanation the undersigned had the pleasure of making yesterday at the lega- 
tion only a few minutes after the note, to which this is a reply, had been sent 
to the foreign oflS.ce — indeed while it was yet on its way there ; but the private 
character of that explanation renders it incumbent upon the undersigned tx) 
recapitulate a portion of it in the present communication. 

In the first place, he begs to assure Sir Charles Wyke that so soon as the 
decree of yesterday was made known to him through the department of finance, 
he proposed to bring it at once to the cognizance of his excellency, though 
anxious that this step should be preceded by a visit, at which it was the inten- 
tion of the undersigned to give Sir Charles Wyke a fuller and more detailed 
explanation of the decree in question, its purport and probable results, than was 
compatible with the limits of an ofiicial note. In the meanwhile, however, the 
decree was duly and formally published and printed in the daily newspapers, 
and this will account for his excellency the British minister having seen it before 
he received either an explanatory communication or visit from the undersigned. 

Sir Charles Wyke will now allow the undersigned the liberty of stating that 
he does not consider his excellency has formed a correct estimate of this decree 
when he says the congress therein makes a free gift to government of other 
people's property. Her Majesty's worthy representative likewise goes on to 
qualify the act of congress as a total suspension of payments for the space of 
two years ; still, it will not escape his keen judgment that the application of 
the term " free gift" to what is merely the act of ratifying certain obligations, 
and specifying the mode of fulfilling the same, amounts to a misnomer. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 75 

Neither can the unclersig-iied agree with Sir Charles "Wyke in his opinion that 
the decree in question is a violation of Mexico's most sacred obligations toward 
other nations. Such a phrase would imply the idea of a voluntary and delib- 
erate act; whereas the republic, in suspending the payments due to the diplo- 
matic conventions, yielded not to the dictates of its own free will, but solely to 
the force of circumstances, "W'hich have rendered it morally and physically im- 
possible for the nation to contiutie making those payments which have hitherto 
been made by means of the most strenuous exertions. When, then, such efforts 
have been unavailing, the government may be permitted to say so without any 
want of respect either for itself or for those nations with whom they may have 
engagements. 

To every obligation there is attached the tacit condition of possible fulfil- 
ment or non-fulfilment, and nobody has ever been judged faithless to his en- 
gagements for having, when compelled to suspend payment, stated the simple 
fact of such engagements being incompatible with possibility. 

Of such a nature is the statement contained in the decree that has now passed 
congress, and her Majesty's minister should not be astonished that it did so pass 
congress, or that it Avas afterwards published without the previous consent of 
the diplomatic representatives in their character of protectors to foreign credi- 
tors, for it must be treated of as the mere declaration of a simple fact, in no way 
tending to the modification or prejudice of the interests connected with the 
public debt. 

It will not have escaped the clear judgment of Sir Charles Wyke, acquainted 
as is his excellency Avith the actual situation of the republic, that the suspension 
of payments which has lately been decreed, which only expresses what has 
long been the public feeling, and has formed the subject of confidential conver- 
sations with some members of the corps diplomatique, as well also as with some 
of those most interested in the foreign debt, has been brought about by an im- 
peiious necessity which did not admit of any preliminary arrangement or adjust- 
ment. The gOA^e'rnment had to choose between two evils — either to respond to 
public opinion by adopting the only existing means of preserving order and re- 
organizing the whole administrative system, or to look quietly on and leave 
society to become an easy prey to the prevailing anarchy. 

Government, considering the preservation of order to be its first duty, and 
believing that for the positive good of all who had interests at stake in the 
country some one plan should be undertaken which would tend to consolidate 
those same interests, presumed they might count, to a certain extent, upon the 
assent of the creditors. 

Sir Charles Wyke, then, will thus understand why the undersigned, holding, 
as he does, these opinions, can neither look upon the decree originating this note, 
as repudiating national engagements, nor as prejudicial to the good fame and 
credit of the republic. 

In order the better to understand the true force and purport of the decree, the 
undersigned Avould beg to refer her Majesty's minister to the note which has 
been addressed to the legation for the purpose of announcing to his excellency 
the act of congress ; and if Sir Charles Wyke considers that, in the visit which 
the undersigned had the honor of paying yesterday at the mission, he was only 
performing such an act of courtesy as should always precede any ofiicial or con- 
fidential conferences upon matters of business, his excellency Avill cease to 
wonder at tlie absence of special reference to the subject of this commimication 
during the conversation which then took place. 
The undersigned, &c. 

MANUEL DE Z AM AGON A. 



76 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

No. 10. 

MEXICAN LEGATION AT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Mexican Republic, Department of Foreign Afp^airs, 

Mexico, July 22, 1861. 

Sir : In reply to your communication bearing yesterday's date, wliicli I have 
just had the honor to receive, I will endeavor to answer seriatim the objections 
you have to offer to the statements contained in my note to your excellency of 
the 19 th mstant. 

You state the reasons why the financial decree was not sooner communicated 
to this legation, and say that you were anxious personally to explain to me the 
motives which had originated it; but what I complained of was that it should 
have passed into a law without the intention even of carrying it into execu- 
tion ever having been announced to me. 

When two parties bind themselves to perform certain stipulations, neither of 
them has the right to free himself from such obligations without having first of 
all obtained the consent of the other contracting party. With regard to what 
you say about the impropriety of my calling this act of congress a giving away 
of other people's property without their consent, permit me to observe that I 
am perfectly justified in making that assertion, for in matters of this nature time 
is often eqviivalent to money, and the arbitrary act of stopping all payments 
for the space of two years is depriving the parties interested of their money for 
that space of time, which is a dead loss of so much value to them. 

The imperious necessity which you urge as an excuse for the act cannot in any 
way justify the manner in which you have made yourself sole judges of that 
necessity, without first of all urging it on the forbearance of your creditors, in 
order to obtain their consent to what you were about to do. 

A starving man may justify, in his own eyes, the fact of his stealing a loaf, 
on the ground that imperious necessity impelled him thereto ; but such an argu- 
ment cannot, in a moral point of view, justify his violation of the law, which 
remains as positive, apart from all sentimentality, as if the crime had not had 
an excuse. If he was actually starving, he should have first asked the baker 
to assuage his hunger, but doing so of his own free will, without permission, is 
acting exactly as the Mexican government has done towards its creditors on the 
present occasion. 

Although, as your excellency truly observes, the law just published does not 
certainly affect the rights of the parties interested, yet it does most positively 
touch their material interests by depriving them of payments on which they 
had counted to fulfil their other engagements. 

With regard to the hope of immediate relief which you seem to entertain from 
the operation of this measure, I am convinced that it will, on the contrary, 
greatly aggravate the actual difiiculties under which you are now laboring, and 
that for reasons so evident that I will not now advance them. 

I am not aware that the project of this law was shown to other diplomatic 
agents, but I certainly never heard of it before under its present form, and, 
therefore, as far as I am concerned, the case stands exactly as I have stated it. 

With regard to the light in which your excellency views this question, as ex- 
pressed in your above-named note, you will, I am sure, excuse me for stating 
that it cannot be treated of partially Avithout also taking into consideration the 
opinions of those who dnectly suffer from the practical operation of such ideas as 
emanating from yourself and the other members of the government who sub- 
mitted the project to the congress. 

With respect to what you mention about a note addressed by your excellency 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 77 

to tills legation witli reference to this matter, I mnst inform jon that it has never 
reached me, and that, therefore, I had a full right to complain, as I did in mj 
commnnication to yon of the 19th, of having first of all heard of this extraor- 
dinary measure of the government by seeing it in printed bills placarded through 
the public streets of the capital. 
I have, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 
His Excellency Senor Don Manuel M. db Zamacona, 

Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

P. S. — Since writing the foregoing lines the note of your excellency, alluded 
to above as missing, has been put into my hands, it having reached this legation 
an hour and a half later than the one to which this is a reply. 

0. L. W. 

Mexico, Ju7i/ 29, 1861. 
True copy. 

LUCAS DE PALCINO Y MAGAKOLA. 

Washington, 8eptemher 21, 1861. 
True copy. 

EOMERO. 



No. 11. 
Sir C. Wyke to Senor Zamacona. 

Mexico, July 23, 1861. 

Sir : Your excellency's note of the 21st instant reached me yesterday after- 
noon, by which I learn that the decree forming its enclosure has passed the 
federal congress of the repu.blic, and that you forward it to me as directly 
bearing on the stipulations of the diplomatic convention for the payment of 
British claims concluded between Great Britain and Mexico in the year 1851. 

I have already so fully explained to you in my notes of the 19th and 22d of 
this month what I think of this decree and the manner in which it has been 
issued, that any further observations of mine with reference to it would only be 
superfluous, and prolong a correspondence which should never have been called 
for at all. 

As to the appeal you. make to the indulgence and forbearance of her Majesty's 
government, in order to obtain their sanction to a measure which is of itself 
suSicient for ever to deprive you of their confidence, I need only remind you 
that such indulgence has already been too far abused by the utter flxilure of all 
your engagements in the affairs of the Oalle de Oapuchinas and the Laguna Seca 
for it to be again extended to those who, instead of feeling grateful for it, only 
seem to count on its exercise in order to free themselves from every obligation, 
however binding it may be. 

Apart from these considerations, however, the carrying out of this financial 
law, so far from benefiting the nation, will only plunge it into tenfold greater 
difiiculties by largely increasing its obligations to its creditors, and at the same 
time .«triking at the root of its credit and commercial prosperity. 

That which is in itself wrong can never come right, for it is a well-known 
axiom that spoliation as a source of revenue soon exhausts itself. 

It is not by such means that the resources of the country can be augmented, 
but by a determination to make every sacrifice and incur every privation with a 
view of maintaining your honor and fulfilling your engagements. This detcrmi- 



78 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

nation onco adopted and manfully put into practice would at once inspire confidence 
and rally round you. those whose sympathies you now appeal to in vain, because 
they doubt from past experience both your prudence and your sincerity. 

In using language thus strong you must not attribute to me a desire to offend, 
which is indeed far from my intention, but I have a duty to perform both to my 
own government and to that to which I am accredited, which impels me fearlessly 
to tell the truth and warn you against the inevitable consequences of a step alike 
fatal to your own interests as well as to those of my countrymen affected by 
this law. 

It now only remains for me to protest most solemnly, as I hereby do, against 
this- decree, at the same time that I hold the republic responsible for all and 
every, damage and prejudice caused by it to the interests of those whom I 
represent ,iu this matter; and further to warn your excellency that unless the 
said decree is withdrawn within forty-eight hours from this present time I shall, 
until I receive fresh instructions, suspend all official intercourse with the Mexican 
government, as any longer maintaining such under existing circumstances would 
be incompatible with the dignity of the nation I have the honor to represent. 

In compliance with your request I will transmit a copy of your excellency's 
note of the 21st instant to her Majesty's government. 
I avail, &c., 

0. LENNOX WYKE. 



[Translation.] 

No. 12. 

MEXICAN EEPUBLIC, DEPAETMENT OF INTERIOR AND FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

Legation of France to Mexico, 

Mexico, July 23, 1861. 

Mr. Minister : I received yesterday, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the two 
notes you have done me the honor to address to me under date of 21st July. 
I am now causing a translation to be made of that of the two notes by which 
you give me official cognizance of the decree of the 17th of this month; bvit 
while awaiting this, that I might reply and in my tm-n inform you of my deter- 
mination on the substance of the business, I cannot pass without ausAver the 
observations by aid of which you seek to reply to my communication of July 20. 

I had declared to you, Mr. Minister, that independently of the fact that the 
measure was in itself an outrage upon the interests and dignity of France, the 
silence observed upon the subject by your government towards the minister of 
the Emperor, as well before as after the vote of congress and the approval by 
the President of the decree of the 17tli July, rendered this act still the more 
insulting, if that were possible. To-day, and after having read your explana- 
tions, I persist more than ever in seeing in the silence of your government a 
fresh insult, gratuitous and premeditated, addressed to France. 

To justify your government, you tell me that so soon as you were infonned 
by the minister of finance of the existence of the decree in question you came 
to my house to give me confidential explanations before communicatiug to me 
officially the decision of congress, but that you were so unfortunate as to hit 
upon a moment in which I was engaged and invisible. 

It is veiy true that through a misunderstanding for which I feel bound to 
express to you all my regrets, and which is explained by the fiict that you did 
not make youi-self known to my chancellor, Mr. de j\Iorineau, I was deprived of 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 79 

the lionor of receiving your visit on the 20th of this month. But allow me to 
remark that this ch'cumstance, apart from the personal regrets I experienced, is 
"Without any importance. A simple collation of dates will be sufficient to con- 
vince you. The decree voted upon the 17th, and apjjroved on the same day by 
the executive authority, was on the 18th, by order of the authorities, posted on 
tlie corners of the prmcipal streets of the capital, and published in various 
joiuTials. But it was on the 20th, at four o'clock in the afternoon, at the moment 
when I had just despatched to you my note, that you called at my house to give 
me some conjidential explanations ! Shall I add that it must seem very strange 
that the chief of the cabmet should not have been informed by the department 
of finance of a measure of such weight until three days after it had been adopted 
by the executive power, and published for forty hours through the street criers 
and the journals'? Such a fact would not be of a nature to give a high opinion 
of the manner in which your governmental machinery is managed. 

This is not the time to refute the reasoning by aid of which you undertake 
the impossible justification of an inexcusable measure. But I will not pass un- 
noticed certain expressions in your note intended to portray in the most touching 
hues the sad condition of your country, and which seem to imply an appeal to 
the feelings and to the generosity of the government of the Emperor. France, 
Mr. Minister, I can say, to its eternal honor, has never been insensible to the 
sight of a government contending with unmerited misfortunes, and bravely 
striving to preserve social order and civilization. But such is not, I say it with 
profound regret, the situation of your government. The difficulties under which 
it succumbs are only the inevitable result, the forced and foreseen consequence 
of unheard of waste, of plunder and prodigality without name, of unbridled 
disorder, of abuses without example, of which since its accession it gives a sad 
spectacle. To pennit at this time that, arming itself with its delinquencies even, 
against which the minister of the Emperor has not in vain endeavored to place 
it on its guard, it should lay hands on the lawful property of our subjects, on 
tlie resources devoted, in virtue of international conventions of the most sacred 
cliaracter, to supply a tardy and inadequate reparation to Frenchmen, innocent 
\'ictims diiring so many years of a system of depredation and spoliation without 
example in any other country, would be on the part of France, not generosity, 
but veritable self-deception, an improvidence the more unpardonable, because if 
I have not much faith in the efficacy of the remedy proposed, I could not, let 
me frankly avow it to you, have any greater confidence ui the hands intrusted 
Avith its application. 

I pray your excellency, Mr. Minister, to accept the assurances of my very 
distinguished consideration. 

A. DE SALIGNY. 

His Excellency Mr De Zamacona, 

Minister of Foreign Relations, National Palace, Mexico. 

July 29, 1861. 
Tnie copy. 

LUCAS DE PALACIO Y MAGAEOLA. 

"Washixgton, September 21, ISGl. 
Copy. 

ROMERO. 



80 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

[Translation.] 

No. 13. 

MEXICAN REPUBLIC, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

Legation of France to Mexico, 

Mexico, July 24, 1861. 

Mr. Minister : I have to answer the communication which your excellency 
did me the honor to address to me the 21st July to bring officially to my 
knowledge the decree of the 17th of this month, of which I shall hasten to 
transmit a copy to the government of the Emperor. 

I have experienced, perhaps, more regret than surprise on learning, Mr. Minis- 
ter, that this measure of the 17th July, in the existence of which I refused to 
believe for the honor of Mexico, was in sooth an authentic act, adopted by your 
government with deliberate purpose, but in the shadow of concealment, as if, 
through a final revolt of its own conscience, it might itself shrink back in the 
blaze of daylight from the avowal of such an enormity. The impression which 
the government of his imperial Majesty will receive on learning this fresh 
assault on the rights and dignity of France, as well as all the circumstances 
connected with it, will not be different, I am convinced, from what I have 
myself felt. 

Your excellency certainly does not expect from me that I should here enter 
into a discussion of the decree of July 17. It belongs to things that are not 
discussed. What need have I, moreover, to give myself to useless efforts to 
convince your excellency that in our conversations you have not hesitated to 
blame almost as energetically as myself this deplorable measure, even at the 
moment when, by a contradiction for which I cannot account, you undertook to 
justify it by means of arguments, more specious than solid, deduced from I know 
not Avhat pretended considerations of necessity and public safety. 

The measure of which we treat worthily crowns the system by the help of 
which, after several months, your government has wrought itself up to elude, to 
deny, or to violate its obligations towards the government of the Emperor. 

In the situation in which you have just placed it, nothing will remain to 
France than one single means of defending and avenging her rights and her 
honor, outraged with indignity — immediate resort to force. It is for your 
government to decide if it will leave affairs to come to this extremity. 

Awaiting its decision, I have, Mr. Minister, a last duty to discharge ; that is, 
solemnly to protest in the name of France, as I here do, against your decree of 
the 17th July, declaring to you that I hold the republic responsible for all the 
damages it may cause to the subjects of his imperial Majesty, and that, in fine, 
if this measure be not recalled and annulled within twenty-four hours from this 
instant, I shall break off all official relations with your government, these rela- 
tions having become incompatible with the dignity of the government which I 
have the honor to represent. 

I pray your excellency to accept the assurance of my very distinguished 
consideration. 

A. DE SALIGNY. 

His Excellency Mr. Zamacona, 

Minister of Foreign Relations, National Palace, Mexico. 

Mexico, Jtdy 29, 1861. 
A true copy. 

LUCAS DE PALACIO Y MAGAROLA. 

Washington, Septemher 21, 1861. 
A true copy. 

ROlilERO. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 81 



No. 14. 

[Translation.] 

MEXICAN EEPUBLIC, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

National PXlace, Mexico, July 25, 1861. 

Tlie undersigned nainister of foreign relations believes that lie ought to make 
some remarks to his excellency the minister of France on the subject of the two 
last notes which he has thought proper to address to this department because of 
the decree of the 17th instant.' 

Before all, the undersigned should explain that whatever may have been his 
private information of the measure stated, and of the initiative which was the 
origin of it, he could not officially communicate it to his excellency Mr. de 
Saligny before it could be communicated to him by the department of finance, 
a step uievitably posterior to the promulgation of the decree spoken of. This 
will put an end to the astonishment which his excellency the minister of France 
exhibits, and will obviate the possibility of perversion of the meaning of the 
explanations which the undersigned* has given upon this point. 

The surprise and sorrow which his excellency the minister of France states 
that he experienced on learning officially the publication of the decree referred 
to are things which the undersigned does not undertake to comprehend in 
treating of a measu^re which has rested a long time on the public attention, 
which has been discussed by the press, and whose unavoidable necessity has 
passed into a proverb. The undersigned considers himself excused from further 
remark when the very representative of the French empire has had the frankness 
to recognize this necessity in private conversations, in referring to some that 
he had had with one of the predecessors of the undersigned about the arrange- 
ment not only of a delay in favor of Mexico for the payment of the debt to 
France, but even of an alleviation of the enormous weight with which the foreign 
debt oppresses the republic. 

The undersigned must also set in proper light the allusion which his excel- 
lency Mv. Saligny makes to the blame which in private conversations he says 
he had cast upon and now reduces to writing upon the measure which is the 
cause of these communications. What the undersigned has stated to the 
minister of France is the decided preference which he would have given to a 
conventional arrangement for the suspension of payments enacted by congress, 
and the regret with which he has had to submit to the hard law of necessity 
which did not give the tirae needed by the government for entering upon pre- 
vious conventional arrangements, which, though initiated with this intent, could 
not effect ah immediate result, on account of accidents foreign to the essence of 
the business ; and meantime the extreme moment arrived in which the govern- 
ment literally could not do any other thing than suspend payments, and trust 
for some general arrangement of the public debt to the prcsiimed consent of the 
parties interested. This is what the undersigned has constantly said to his 
excellency the minister of France, and thus it falls out that, while deploring the 
impossibility of entering into previous arrangements, he may have influenced the 
conduct of the government upon the overmastering considerations of necessity 
and of public safety. 

The government of the vmdersigned protests against the imputation thrown 
upon it of having systematically endeavored, in these latter times, to elude, dis- 
regard, and violate its engagements with the govei'nment of the Emperor. Tlie 
facts and the correspondence of this department with the French legation bear 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 6 



82 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

witness to the coniraiy. For throe years past Mexico, notwithstanding she 
found herself in the midst of difficulties and complications without example, in 
place of eluding her liahilities has ratified them, has confirmed them, has given 
strength to them by means of acknowledgments in which there has been, 
perhaps, somewhat of improvidence, and which have contributed much to the 
difiiculties with which the government now contends. At this very moment the 
nation acknowledges all the rights which are derived from its. international 
engagements, but finds itself compelled to declare that those rights cannot, for 
a certain period, be regularly provided for by the receipts from the maritime 
custom-houses, because these constitute the only available and immediate 
resource of the government, and are not sufficient to meet the serious, although 
temporary, dangers with which the public is threatened, and the interest upon 
and funding of the public debt. 

The decree of the 17th instant does not repudiate any obligation, nor do 
anything but place in their appropriate order those which the government main- 
tains towards civilization and society, and those which it is under to its creditors. 
In all this decree there is not a single word that can reveal any tendencies to 
spoliation. It is nothing but a declaration on the part of the Mexican people, 
in the same terms in which such is made daily by traders and merchants who 
find themselves under actual^ impossibility to fulfil their engagements. The 
only difference is, that between individuals* the disputes between creditors and 
debtors are, in such event, carried before the courts, and between nations are 
brought before the supreme tribunal of justice arid of ec[uity. His excellency 
Mr. de Saligny in his last note declares that he declines this jurisdiction, and 
prefers to carry the matter before the tribunal of force. 

It is strange that the minister of France, to whose intelligence the rules which 
preside over human revolutions must be familiar, should regard as an exceptional 
characteristic of that of Mexico the irregular course of public events in the 
months immediately close upon the downfall of the reaction, and that, arming 
himself Avith those recollections, now that the double qxiick step of refoiin has 
' slackened, as Avfll as the impetuosity which the revolution brought from the 
fields of battle — now that we hear the voice of those who claim to organize and 
direct it, should declare the Mexican people to be unworthy of all equitable 
consideration, and should oppose the advent of order and regularity precisely 
in the name of that inevitable disorder. On the other hand, if that has existed, 
it must be that Mr. de Saligny ought to reflect that, far from having brought 
prejudice to French interests, it is proverbial that his fellow-coimtrymen have 
been the most benefited by what the minister of France calls the prodigalities 
' of the revolution ; and in reference to this, the undersigned takes the liberty to 
ask Mr. de Saligny to look into his conscience and search whether the violent 
language with which he enforced his criminations of Mexico is worthy of the 
noble country which he represents, and in whose sentiments it is impossible 
there should exist a wish to abuse its position as a creditor; and this when 
France is not so with respect to Mexico, unless for a relatively small amount, 
and when out of this affair there cannot, on the other hand, any question of 
dignity be raised, because that would be equivalent to saying that the poverty 
and the embarrassments of Mexico may afiect the dignity of France. 

The nation has restricted itself to declaring, by means of the decree of the 
17th, the condition of its complication and its pemny, without repudiating any 
of the rights created in favor of its creditors, and, on the contrary, by coming 
forward and offering new guarantees. 

It cannot be unperceived by the practical wisdom of his excellency the envoy 
of France that he asks . an impossibility from the government of the imder- 
signed in requiring from it, within twenty -four hours, the abrogation of the 
decree of the 17th instant. Neither the government could initiate this abroga- 
tion, because that vrould be to initiate anarchy and social dissolution; nor 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 83 

could congress, wliicli passed that law almost by acclamation, convinced that it 
was of vital importance to the republic, listen to the initiative. 

The protest with which his excellency the minister of France closes his note 
appears to the undersigned so much the more superfluous, because he has him- 
self anticipated it, so to say, by protesting, even from his first notes upon this 
business, that the ultimate resolutions of congress can in nowise affect the legiti- 
mate rights of parties interested in the foreign debt. 

The undersigned permits himself, moreover, to remark, saving his respect for 
the sound judgment of Mr. de Saligny, that far from seeing an act becoming the 
honor and dignity of the French empire in the suspension of relations, which 
its representative annoimces he beheves it to be very possible that impartial na- 
tions should look upon this step as absolutely without motive, and hopes, from 
the prudence of the minister of France, that until he receives instructions he 
may keep up the cordial understanding, for whose interruption no cause what- 
ever exists, and which may so much conti'ibute to the satisfactory solution of this 
business. 

The undersigned is gratified to offer, on this opportunity, to his excellency 
Mr. de Saligny the assui-ances of his very distinguished consideration. 

MANUEL M. DE ZAMAOONA. 

His Excellency Mr. A. de Saligny, S^., S^., 8j-c. 

Mexico, Jul^. 29, 1861. 
A copy. 

LUCAS DE PALACIO Y MAGAROLA. 

Washington, September 21, 1862. 
A copy. , 

ROMERO. 



N"o. 15. 

Sefior Zaviacona to Sir C. JVyke. 
[Translation.] 

Mexico, July 25, 1861. 

The communication which his excellency her Britannic Majesty's minister was 
pleased, under yesterday's date, to address to the undersigned upon the subject 
of the decree of the sovereign congress proclaiming a total suspension of pay- 
ments, not excepting those of the diplomatic conventions and the London debt, 
has rendered it incumbent upon the xindersigned to make certain explanations, 
without which it might be supposed that his government had accepted as irrefutable 
some of the facts and statements therein adduced by Sir Charles Wyke. 

Once and for all, then, the undersigned rejects the notion entertained by his 
excellency in his notes of the 19th and 22d instant, that the decree of the 17th 
implies an act of spoliation.' 

This act of the legislature carries with it no legal right whatever to rob 
foreign creditors of -what belongs to them. The nation, in whose house of 
representatives the decree in question was carried with scarcely a dissenting 
voice, has never sought to disavow the rights which have accrued to others from 
international compacts. Still she has been forced to declare that, for some time 
to come, such rights cannot continue to be a drain upon the revenue of the 
maritime custom-houses', for that revenue — the only one government possesses 
for immediate purposes — does not suffice for the actual exigencies, temporary 
though tliey be, of the. country and society, and at the same time for the payment 
of the interest and principal of the public debt. Government have obligations 



84 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

to perform lootli towards society and tlieir creditors. Tliey cannot perform both 
at once, and consequently, by tbe decree wbicli has originated this note, govern- 
ment -have done nothing more than place those obligations in their legitimate 
order, Avithont attacking or disavowing any of them. 

His excellency her Majesty's envoy extraordinary, while attempting to clothe 
the act of congress in the garb of spoliation, has in one of his former notes 
employed a simile, the inaptitude of which is strikingly perceptible. His 
excellency compares the government at this moment to a person who, impelled 
by hunger, assaults and robs a provision merchant. Now, tAvo ruling principles 
are implied in such an act — one of aggression, the other of robbery — neither of 
which can even be assumed in respect to the conduct of government towards its 
creditors. Of not a sixpence have these same creditors been deprived ; and if 
one had to employ a simile to qualify the conduct of government, it Avould be 
rather that of a father overwhelmed with debts, who, with, only a small sum at 
his disposal, scarcely sufficient to maintain his children, employed it in the 
purchase of bread instead of in the payment of his bills. Were her Britannic 
Majesty's representative a member of the family, would his excellency be eager 
to qualify his father's conduct by the name of spoliation ? 

In every-day life one is accustomed to see people Avho suspend payment owing 
to pecuniary emban-assments, yet nobody seeks to call them thieves. Now, in 
the decree, upon which her Britannic Majesty's minister passes so severe a 
sentence, not a single word is there which can give rise to the idea of thieving 
propensities. Payments, it is true, are stopped because government cannot pay 
out of the funds assigned to it. They are stopped because the nation, to be 
orderly, and at the same time methodical in the accounts of the public debt, wants 
as soon as possible a government; yet still, with feelings of loyalty, and with a 
solicitude worthy both of being more justly appreciated, she has given her 
■creditors a twofold guarantee; firstly, in the plan itself, so complete, so impartial,, 
a plan wherein looms a prospect of solid stability ; and secondly, in the assign- 
ment of a special fund of several millions, (most of which can shortly be realized,) 
whereby, even during the period of suspension, {\p. their case nominal,) the 
foreign creditors will obtain even better secui'ity than what was given them in 
the maritime /iustom-houses. 

It is not, M. le Ministre, about sacrifices or money that Mexico is haggling; 
that which she is defending are the principles of order; that Avhicli she is 
longing for is system and organization, without which she is lost ; and she is 
searching after prudence and method, so that she may never again be accused 
of slovenliness and mismanagement by those who regard as a national vice what 
is but a phenomenon inseparable from a state of revolution. 

It is well, too, to state accurately the attitude of Mexico before her creditors, 
both as it was and is ; for it is not such a one as his excellency her Majesty's 
envoy describes in his last note. To judge therefrom, our republic has never 
been aught than an indigent debtor, who from time immemorial has responded 
with ingratitude and bad faith to the undeniable generosity and indulgence of 
her creditors. 

The undersigned shuts his eyes purposely to the history of the foreign debt, 
for neither would he wish to employ the bitter tone of Sir Charles Wyke's note, 
nor give the slightest indication of Mexico's belonging to the set of faithless 
debtors who, to avoid payment, dispute the legality of their obligations. Mexico, 
on the contrary, recognizes in a high degree her engagements, and will abide by 
them, moreover, without taking exception at the antecedents of the original con- 
tract. 

But the l^ndersigned is convinced that, when this coiTCspondence shall have 
come to light, all who are familiar with the history of our external debt, all Avho 
are acquainted Avith the primary elements of the British couA^ention, and knoAV 
how the parties interested therein were alloAved the advantages of increased 



, THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 85 

interest in the midst of a ruinous civil war, and in the days of Mexico's hardest 
struggle, will see something strange in the allusion of his excellency her 
Majesty's minister to the indulgence of which the foreign creditors were so 
prodigal, 'but which the republic so systematically abused. 

Had the demands of the creditors been somewhat fcAver, then, perhaps, the 
fulfilment of international engagements might have come within the range of 
possibility. Mexico, however, has been like those fields where the harvests 
haA'-e been out of proportion to the fertility of the soil, and the day comes when 
the laud becomes impoverished, yields nothing, and is obliged to lie fallow for 
one or two years. 

The undersigned considers he should not pass over in silence the charge which 
is made against his government of having failed to fulfil their engagements in 
respect to the funds seized at the British legation by functionaries of the reac- 
tion, and to the money-convoy " occupied" at Laguna Seca. 

In the first case, government, with the consent of the legation, engaged simply 
to make the perpetrators of the act responsible, and if such means did not lead 
to the desired result, viz., indenmity, to discuss others which might do so. No 
one, then, can say that until now government has not fulfilled their engagement 
in this case. 

As for the aflPair of Laguna Seca, when government undertook to repay, within 
the space of four mouths, what remained unpaid of the amount " occupied" out 
of the " conducta," they did so at a time when they could not foresee that the 
remnant of the reaction would turn refractory, and oblige them to enter upon au 
expensive campaign, which would upset all their financial calculations. 

Notwithstanding this, however, they have made every kind of sacrifice, 
monetary and otherwise, to keep intact this special debt ; to an extent, indeed, 
that has left them in possession of but a small available surplus. No one who 
does justice to the Mexican nation can refuse to acknowledge the exemplary 
manner in which she has endeavored to satisfy her creditors, to the unstable 
disparagement of national interests. 

The actual amount assigned for the payment of the foreign debt during the 
residence of the constitutional government at Vera Cruz, and that, too, at a time 
when the re-establishment of peace was being laboriously worked out, and when, 
consequently, the country could ill sustain the heavy demands made upon it, 
speaks volumes in itself. 

The little faith manifested by his excellency Sir Charles Wyke as to the 
results of the financial law and the small value he puts upon the guarantees it 
gives to foreign creditors, do not seem to be shared in by the parties themselves 
who are interested in the diplomatic conventions, since it is only within the last 
few 'days that government had all but concluded an arrangement with them, the 
basis of whicljgtv^ould not have interfered with their present rate of interest, but 
it could not be perfected owing to her Majesty's envoy extraordmary having 
refused to sanction it. 

The same may be said of the creditors in the matter of the Laguna Seca 
" conducta." Guided by natural instinct — so infallible a rule where individual 
interests are concerned — they did not, like Sir Charles Wyke, entertain any 
doubts about the prudence and sincerity of the government. And touching 
these said doubts, amounting, as they do, to an insult, his excellency will permit 
the undersigned to exhort liim to commune with his conscience, and ask it 
whether or not the tone of his excellency's last communication is such as should 
be used by a creditor, calling himself generous and indulgent, towards a friend 
who is in his debt and overwhelmed by difficulties. 

It cannot ' -'cape the enlightened understanding of his excellency the repre- 
sentative of Great Britain that, in demanding from the government of the un- 
dersigned the withdrawal, within forty-eight hours, of the late decree, he simply 
demands an impossibility. Neither could the government initiate the with- 



86 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. . , 

drawal, for it would be equivalent to initiating the reign of anarcliy and a 
general dissolution of society ; nor could congress, who had carried this law 
almost by acclamation, and who were convinced of its vital importance to the 
rejjublic, listen for a moment to^such a proposition 

The protest with which his excellency her Majesty's envoy extraordinary 
concludes his note appears to the undersigned so much the more superfluous, as 
in his very first note upon this subject the undersigned had, so to speak, also 
protested, but against the supposition that the last act of congress in any way 
affected the lawful rights of the persons interested in the public debt. 

The undersigned will further take the liberty of stating, with all due deference 
and respect to Sir Charles Wyke's sound judgment, that, very far from seeing 
in the suspension of relations, now announced by his excellency as representa- 
tive of Great Britain, an act due to the honor and dignity of England, he thinks 
it not improbable that all nations, who consider the matter impartially, will look 
upon this step as absolutely uncalled for ; and he therefore trusts that his excel- 
lency, while awaiting the instructions to which he alludes, will continue his 
friendly relations to this government, for the interruption of which there can be 
no possible caiise, while their maintenance will surely contribute to the satisfac- 
tory solution of the joresent difficulty. 

The undersigned, &p. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA. 



No. 16. 
[Translation.] 

Legation of France in Mexico, 

Mexico, July 25, 1861. 

Mr. Minister : I announced, in a note which I had the honor to address to 
your excellency yesterday, that if the decree of the 17th of July was not with- 
drawn and annulled within the period of twenty-four hours I should break off 
all official relations with your government. 

The tenn fixed by my note having expired without my receiving a satisfac- 
tory reply, I must regard your silence as a refusal to accede to my request. 

Consequently, I have the honor to inform you that from this moment all offi- 
cial relations are broken off between the legation of his Imperial Majesty and 
your government. * 

I beg you to accept, Mr. Minister, the assurance of my vei|> distinguished 
consideration. 

A. DE SALIGNr. 

His Excellency Mr. M'l de Zamacona, 

Minister of Foreign Relations, National Palace, Mexico. 

Washington, Septeinher 21, 1861. 
A true copy. 

EOMEEO. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 87 

» 
No. 17. 
[Translation.] 
MEXICAN EEPUBLIG, DEPARTMENT OF FOREiaJT RELATIONS. 

National Palace, Mexico, July 25, 1S61. 

The undersigned, minister of foreign relations, lias the honor at this instant 
to receive the note which his excellency the minister of.France has pleased to 
address to him, announcing the suspension of his relations with the government 
of Mexico. His excellency Mr. de Saligny must have received the note which, 
at five o'clock yesterday, afternoon, the undersigned had the honor to send to 
him, showing the absolute want of motive for a suspension of relations between 
the government of the Emperor and that of the Mexican republic ; and as little 
can there serve for cause of the resolution which Mr. Saligny announces that 
lapse of twenty-four hours, which it pleased him to fix upon in his last note 
but one, inasmuch as that was not received at this department until seven o'clock 
last night. 

The undersigned refers to what is contained in the last communication, and 
avails himself of this opportunity to repeat to his excellency the minister of 
France the assurances of his most distinguished consideration. . 

MANUEL MARIA DE ZAMAOONA. 

Mexico, July 24, 1861. 
A true copy. 

LUCAS DE PALAIOS Y MAGAEOLA. 

Washington, Bcptemher 21, 1861. 
A true copy. 

ROMERO. 
To his Excellency Mr. A. de Saligny, 

Envoy Extraordinary and plenipotentiary, ^r., of France. 



No. 18. 
Sir C. Wylce to Senor Zainacona. 

Mexico, July 25, 1861, 5 p. m. 

Sir: The day before yesterday, at this hour, I had the honor of informing 
yo.ur excellency that if the decree of the 17th instant was not withdrawn within 
forty-eight hours I should feel it my duty to suspend all official intercourse with 
the Mexican government until I should receive instructions from her Britannic 
Majesty's government as to the next step to be taken in a matter Avhich not only 
implies the breach of a, solemn international compact, but also carries with it so 
great a slight as almost to amount to a direct insult to the nation I have the 
honor to represent. 

The term having now expired within which I should have received a reply, 
and none having reached me, I take your silence as a refusal of r^ demand ; 
and I therefore from this time forward suspend all official relations with the 
government of this republic until tliat of her Majesty shall adopt such measures 
as they shall deem necessary under circumstances so unprecedented. 
I have, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



88 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF ]\J:EXIC0. 

No. 19. • . 

Senor Zaviacona to Sir C. ^Vtjke. 
[TjanslatioQ.] 

Mexico, Ji^/y 25, 1861. 

Tlic undersigned, ^c, lias tliis moment liad the honor of receiving from liis 
excellency Sir 0. Lennox Wyke, &c., tlie note in which his excellency is 
pleased to announce the suspension of his relations Avith the government of 
Mexico. 

Sir Charles Wyke must have received the communication which the under- 
signed had the honor of addressing to him at 5 o'clock this afternoon ; this will 
prove the utter absence of any motive for a suspension of relations between the 
government of Gh-eat Britain and that of the Mexican republic. 

Neither can there be any cause for the resolution taken by Sir Charles Wyke, 
in the expiration of the forty-eight hours fixed by his excellency in his note of 
the 23d instant, (as the term to be allowed to government for answering the 
iiltimatum,) inasmuch as it was only 7 o'clock in the evening of the 23d that the. 
above note was received at government house. 

The undersigned, in calling attention to his last communication, avails, &c. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA. 



No. 20. 

Sir C. Wyhe to Senor Zamacona. 

[Private.] 

Mexico, July 26, 1861. 

Dear Sir : At 7 o'clock yesterday evening, that is, two hours after the ex- 
piration of the forty-eight hours in which I had required a reply to my n^te of 
the 23d instant, I received yours dated the 25th, to which, consequently, I can 
only reply by a private letter, as its contents have in no way changed the reso- 
lution Avhich both the French minister and myself have been driven to adopt by 
the extraordinary and unjiistifiable conduct of the Mexican government with 
reference to the decree of the 17th instant. 

A careful perusal of your above-mentioned note has convinced, me that mine 
of the 23d, to which it is a reply, has not been properly translated to you, as 
you put some things into my mouth which I never said, and so twist the sense 
of others as to gi-ve them a totally different meaning from what they really 
convey. 

Passing by this, however, I will only revert to the really essential part of 
yoiu' note, which is the refusal to rescind a financial scheme, the maintenance of 
which, besides plunging the republic into further pecuniary difficulties, will have 
the effect #f bringing it into collision with the two first maritime powers of the 
Avorld, and that, too, in a quarrel Avhich you have originated, and where, permit 
me to say, you are quite in the wrong. 

As I am, in thus writing to you, unfettered by the reserve imposed in an_ 
official corronespdence, I may tell you frankly that you are leaning on a broken 
reed when you trust to the sympathy of those whose interests Mexico has sys- 



THE EKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 89 

tematically sacrificed to Iier own. This is proved by tlie history of the foreign 
debt as applicable to the bondholders, which it would be well that you should 
carefully study, and you will then see that the repeated engagements made with 
them have itp to the present moment always been either entirely evaded or only 
partially executed, as, for instance, when after consenting to a reduction of 
iutere'st of from 5 per cent, to 3 per cent, on the condition of receiving certain 
payments from the duties levied in the Pacific ports, they do not receive one 
sixpence from that source, and are only very partially paid from the Atlantic 
custom-houses. 

I will not dwell on the long and dreadful list of murders committed on my 
luifortunate countrymen, which, with one exception I believe, have remained 
unpunished from the date of your independence down to the recent dreadful 
butchery of poor Mr. Beale at Napolis. 

Do you think that these lamentable facts are calculated to gain our sympathy 
or inspire us with confidence in a people who thus violate their engagements 
with us, and kill our fellow-siibjects with perfect impunity ? 

It is really time that the government of Mexico should open their eyes to the 
natural consequences produced by such conduct, and should become aware of 
the unfavorable opinion entertained of them in Europe. 

Whose fault is it that the country has been deluged in blood ever since the 
declaration of its independence, but that of its own citizens, in constantly making 
revolutions and carrying on a series of fratricidal wars amongst themselves, 
which have reduced one of the finest countries in the world to misery, and so 
degraded its population as to make them dangerous, not only to themselves, but 
to everybody coming into contact with them? 

Yoii appeal to the generous sentiments of creditors towards an unforttmate 
debtor bowed down by his difficulties, forgetting that that debtor, with only 
common prudence within the last six months, luight at this moment be actually 
free from debt, had he not wilfully and recklessly squandered the millions he 
then had at his disposal. 

As to the mode of payment proposed to certain British claimants, to which 
you allude in your yesterday's note, it was so impracticable as to be unaccepta- 
ble to all of them, when its real nature was pointed out to them. 

With regard to what you say about the Laguna Seca robbery and the lega- 
tion outrage, it is useless for the Mexican government to deceive itself, by calling 
the foi-mer an " occupation of funds," and the latter a deed performed by the 
" functionaries of the reaction." The first was a theft, and the second an un- 
heard-of violation of international law, committed by a government recognized 
by every European nation, and for both these crimes, as -yet unattoned for, 
Great Britain will surely hold this republic fully responsible. 

I have already extended this letter to an undue length, and must therefore 
conclude, but, before doing so, let me again urge you, for your own sakes, to 
retrieve the fatal error you have made with regard to this decree, by inmicdiately 
"vsHithdrawing it ; for otherwise all official intercourse between this legation and 
your government becomes impossible, and you will remain Avith the responsibility 
attaching to an act which, both in form and substance, is perfectly unjustifiable. 

Trusting that you Avill receive Avhat I have now Avrittcn in the spirit which 
really dictated these lines, I Avill take leave of a subject Avhich is a much more 
serious one than seems to be supposed by the Mexican government. 

In a second note of yours, received yesterday, you complained that my note, 
written at 5 o'clock on the 23d, only reached you at 7 o'clock on that day, and 
that consequently, in writing to you yesterday at 5 o'clock, you had had only 
forty-six instead of forty-eight hours' delay before the suspension of ofiicial re- 
lations. 

This I regret, but it was not my fault, as on both days I despatched my note 
from here at half-past five in the afternoon. In point of fact, however, the two 



90 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

hours thus lost are of no importance, as you refuse to withdraw the obnoxious 
decree. 

Believe me, &c., 

0. LENNOX WYKE. 



No. 21. 
Senor Za?)iacona to Sir C. Wyke. 

[Translation ] 

Mexico, July 27, 1861. 

My Dear Sir : I have had the honor of receiving your letter of yesterday, 
and I am glad that it gives me. the opportunity of asking you to listen once 
more to the voice of one who is as sincere as he is honorable; of one whose 
love for his country is only excelled by his love of justice and reason ; of one 
who is confident that you will be brought to do justice to the intentions of the 
Mexican government, for, as if by inspiration, he knows you to be possessed of 
similarity of sentiment with himself. 

It cannot be that, talented and generous as you are, you have yet thought it 
strange that government should refuse to withdraw the decree of the 17th instant. 
Your conscience must tell you, M. le Ministre, that it is an impossibility you 
ask of government, for how could they entertain your proposition 1 The mere 
preliminaries for the suspension of a law which had passed congress would take 
up more time than what you have allowed for deciding whether or not our offi- 
cial relations were to be maintained. This single fact would account for the 
position taken up by government, as well as for their determination to meet 
boldly dangers and difficulties, oven greater than those which you have had the 
goodness to warn me against. < 

Such a step as the one you now propose, if taken by Mexico, could not but 
prove suicidal to her political standing as a nation, for it would be equivalent to 
the surrender of her constitution and her sovereignty into the keeping of the 
foreign diplomatic body, and that, too, in a matter where my inmost conviction 
tells me that justice is on our side. 

Still, as in the correspondence which has passed between us during the last 
few days, I had seen the opposite doctrine sustained, and heard the conduct of 
my government qualified repeatedly as unjustifiable, I began to distrust my own 
convictions about equity and common sense, so much so that I sought to justify 
myself and my country by a reference to international law, and I can only say, 
now that the work of reference is over, that my former convictions are only the 
more confirmed, 

I perceive, M. le Ministre, that writers on international law hold it to be a 
general principle, that any change of circumstances, or the positive inability of 
one of the parties in a contract to fulfil the same, does of itself nullify a bond ; 
and since I likewise, in my turn, may be permitted to avail myself of the advan- 
tages of a private letter, I will take the liberty of doing what might be con- 
sidered in the light of pedantry were I writing to you officially, and make 
certain quotations which bear upon this question. 

Grotius and Oorcellus hold that " the obligation which results from a compact 
becomes nvill and void so soon as its fulfilment becomes impossible." Wheaton, 
too, has the following passage: "Treaties may be avoided, even subsequent to 
ratification, upon the ground of the impossibility, physical or moral, of fulfil- 
ling their stipulations. Physical impossibility is Avhere the party making the 
stipulation is disabled from fulfilling it for want of the necessary physical means 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 91 

depending on himself." In Martens we read, "Physical impossibility in a 
nation to fulfil treaty engagements absolves it from the obligations of the com- 
pact, but not from the obligations to make indemnity, should it be proved that 
the physical impossibility could have been foreseen, or that it was caused by the 
nation itself." And Heflfter has the following remarkable sentence: "The con- 
tracting party may refuse to fulfil his.engagements, when their fulfilment becomes' 
impossible and is likely to remain so, even though the contract be violated ; 
more especially if private duties, or the rights and wellbeing of a people are con- 
cerned." 

I could go on quoting, but I should exceed the limits of this note were I to 
bring forward the numerous authorities upon this recognized principle of inter- 
national law. 

There is, M. le Ministre, something inexplicably harsh in denying the right 
of Mexico to the sympathy of her creditors, and in saying that she has syste- 
matically sacrificed their interests to her own. 

I had already, before receiving your advice, studied the history of the English 
debt, and my research has shown me that from the very date of the London 
loan the republic has been a loser, its actual loss amounting to something like 
8,000,000 dollars; that when bonds were issued in the year 1824 she did noth- 
ing less than make good at par what she could have made good at 50 per cent. ; 
that later on she lost several millions in the failure of those British firms who 
had been mixed up in the business ; yet, that still, notwithstanding the civil 
war which has for years been raging in the country, she has made the bond- 
holders such remittances as cannot but have filled their pockets beyond what 
could have been expected, considering the circumstances of the country. But 
this refers solely to the exterior debt, which perhaps has suffered less than any- 
thing else from the vicissitudes Mexico, has had to undergo, since, at all events, 
this particular debt has been attended to with something like the ver^^are and 
method which the government is desirous of employing in respect to the entire 
public debt. 

While her Majesty's legation is talking about the history of the exterior debt, 
it would be well if, instead of turning their attention solely to the question of 
the London loan, which has no diplomatic character Avhatever, they looked into 
the matter of the British convention, and stated frankly who really have been 
the sufferers in this business, and who have had to make sacrifices and undergo 
hardships. Let them say whether or not the republic has come off scot-free, 
when in the midst of her difliculties she has gone on punctually paying the as- 
signments of the British convention, and even increasing the rate of interest on 
those assignments. 

In one of my last oificial communications I mentioned to you that feelings of 
delicacy prevented my entering into the details of the convention question. I 
can, however, in a private letter call your attention to the kind of elements 
composing this diplomatic arrangement, and to the consequences resulting there- 
from; indeed, it is only a few days ago that an English paper in this capital 
brought th(; matter to light, and proved nothing less than that Mexico had been 
paying for some tobacco concern at the rate of two ounces for each box of cigars. 

As to the complaints which you have made about the robberies and murders 
tliat of late have been committed in the republic, though they have not solely 
been committed upon the pei*sons of Englishmen, but equally upon Mexicans, 
nobody need have less cause to blush than those Avho, like the present govern- 
ment, are giving the most positive proofs of how much they are taken up with 
this subject, and of their anxiety to put a stop, at any price, to such atrocities, 
and who were actually on the point of procuring the means of carrying out their 
int<'ntions, when those means were protested against by the British legation. 

Who, you ask, is to blame for the present state of aftairs, and for the wars 



92 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

whicli have been desolating the republic ? I will tell you in all frankness, M. 
le Ministre, and you must not be astonished at what I am going to say. 

If, as I suppose, you are well acquainted with what has happened since the 
date of our independence, you will find that the origin of the evil can be traced 
to circumstances over which neither our race in general, nor this generation in 
■particular, had any control. It was no work of theirs ; while, as for what has 
taken place within the last few years, foreign diplomatic agents are, in a great 
measure, responsible, for having recognized and given moral support to a hand- 
ful of rebels Avho were utterly repudiated by the nation at large. Such, at all 
events, is public opinion. 

In your last letter you still hold to the general but exaggerated notion, that 
many millions of the late church property have been needlessly squandered 
away. My opinion iTpon this point, M. le Ministre, may be considered worth 
something, for no journalist has advocated more strenuously than I have done 
tlie necessity of a proper and organized administration of the property in 
question, yet I am sure that if the matter were reduced to figures, and the actual 
value of the church property put on paper, with the positive depreciation that' 
value has undergone, owing to the civil wars ; and if, moreover, there be taken 
into consideration the sums paid from this source towards the extinction of the 
national debt, the discount at which government has been compelled to transact 
their negotiations in order to realize this property, and the surplus which still 
remains, I am sure, I repeat, that the charge of having squandered away mil- 
lions will be found exaggerated. 

I cannot understand why you should qualify as impracticable the arrangement 
which the parties interested in the British convention had entered into with 
government. This, or any other analogous one, would be very feasible upon 
the bases laid down in the decree of tljie 17th for the guidance of the special 
finance Ifcmmittee. This decree has in no Avay sacrificed the rights of the 
public debt ; and nothing is asked for either by the government, the congress, 
or the country, but the permission to attempt the pacification of the country, 
and- carry out their administrative reform. 'They claim but this. 

With respect to what you are pleased to say about the conduct of the chiefs 
of the federal army in having " occupied" certain funds at Laguna Seca, I will 
simply ask you whether you conceive the word "robbery" implies the idea of a 
future indemnity, such as was made voluntarily and at a great sacrifice on this 
occasion, as is proved by the trifling sum which still remains impaid 1 

As for the outrage at the British legation, I must correct a slight error you 
have made in referring to this act. It is not true that the authors of this out- 
rage, at the time of its commission, were recognized by the representatives of 
' friendly powers. 

I thank you, in conclusion, most sincerely for the kind language you employ, 
while exhorting me to facilitate the renewal of our relations by the withdrawal 
of the decree of the 17th instant; but it appears to me that the interest you 
profess in the matter would have lost none of its weight, and would have gained 
in dignity, had you accompanied it, by way of incentive, with some proposition 
for an arrangement not incompatible with the honor of the nation, and less un- 
feasible than the essentially impracticable one you have already made us. 

Hoping that you will have the goodness to consider well the observations I 
now oifer, and flattering myself that they may lead to the re-establishment of 
our oflicial intercourse, for the interruption of which there is as yet no motive, 
I beg, &c. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA. 



THE PKESENT CONDITION -OF MEXICO. 93 

No. 22 

[Triinslation.] 

MEXICAN REPUBLIC, DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

[Confidential and private.] 

Mexico, July 26, 1861. 
My Dear Sir : On the 24th, at five in the afternoon, I addressed you a note, 
informing yon that if, within the period of twenty-four hours, yo\u- decree of 
1 7th July was not recalled and annulled I should break off my relations with 
your government. Yesterday, at half-past five o'clock, not having an answer, 
I had to address to you another note to notify this rupture to you. 

At six o'clock I received from you a first communication, of July, (no date.) 
In fine, at seven o'clock there was brought to me your second note, of the 
25th. In this you tell me that my note of ths 24th, despatched by me at five 
o'clock, had only reached you at seven. I can the less understand this delay, 
because at half-past five the envelope was brought to me to serve to note the 
time. 

For the rest your two last communications, containing a refusal to accede to 
my demand, I find myself, to my great regret, under the necessity of persisting 
in the resolution of which I notified you officially yesterday. 

I pray you to accept, my dear sir, the assurance of my most respectful 
regards. 

. A. DE SALIGNY. 

His Excellency Mr. Manuel De Zamacona. 

Mexico, My 29, 1861. 
A cop3\ 

LUCAS DE PALACIO Y. MAGAEOLA. 

Washington, Septeinher 21, 1861. 
A true copy. * ROMEEO. 



No. 23. . 
[Translation.] 
MEXICAN REPUBLIC, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

Saturday, July 27, 1861. 

Very Esteemed and Eespected Sir : I do not consider that I should add 
anything to the explanations which I had the honor to make to you ofiicially in 
regard to the hour at which I received your communication of the 24tli instant, 
beyond the solemn protestation that my answer was sent to the French legation 
beiore the expiration of the period which, in your said communication, was fixed 
upon f<n- the abrogation of the decree of the 17th instant, and the interruption 
of our official relations. 

Although you have thought proper to carry this last measure into effect, I do 
not yi.'t find sufficient reason to cause it, and this induces me to take the liberty 
td enclose herein a copy of the reflections which I have addressed in a private 
letter to the English minister in respect of the resolution he has taken in the 



94 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

same direction as yourself, the grounds for wliicli he thought proper to state, 
with some fulhiess, in a letter which he addressed to me yesterday. 

I do myself the honor to subscribe myself your most obedient, humble servant. 

MANUEL MA. DE ZAMACONA. 
His Excellency A. Dubois de Saligny, 

Minister of France, ^r., ^r., ^r. 

Mexico, Jm??/ 29, 1861. 
A co^iy. 

LUCAS DE PALACIOS Y MAGAROLA. 

a 

Washington, Scptemher 21, 18G1. 
A true copy. 

ROMEEO. 



No. 24. 
[Translation. — Extract.] . 
MEXICAN EEPUBLIC, DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

No. 34.J National Palace, Mexico, August 29, 1S61. 

The political review, and the copies enclosed to you of the instructions ad- 
dressed under date to Mr. Don Juan Antonio de la Fuente, and of one of the 
private notes to which they refer, will impress upon you the character of the 
public situation of Mexico, and of the state of the diplomatic question. 

As for the rest, you may hold as reproduced the recommendations which a 
mouth ago A^ere made to you to resort to all opportune measure, to rectify tlie 
opinions which people purposely seek to lead astray in what relates to the acts 
of the Mexican government. 

With this motive I renew to you the assurance of my respectful consideration. 

ZAMACONA. 
ITie Charge d'affaires 

of the Repuhlic, at WasMngt07i. 

Washington, September 21, 1861. 
A copy. 

* ROMERO. 



No. 25. . 

[Translation . — Extract . ] 

MEXICAN REPUBLIC, DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN RELA^HONS. 

National Palace, Mexico, Aitgicst 29, 1861. 

Among the documents which L send with this communication you will find 
those Avhich brought to a close the correspondence this department had with the 
legations of France and England on the subject of the decree upoir the suspen- 
sion ^f payments, which it was not possible to send you a month since in com- 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 95 

plete condition, because tibe last notes, as you can see, are of a date later than 
the sailing of tlie packet. 

The correspondence being closed, tlie apparent position of tlie two ministers 
of England and France lias been that merely of expectation. Under these cir- 
cumstances, nevertheless, both, and very especially Mr. de Saligny, have dis- 
played during all the month a system of incessant hostility which puts forth 
plainly their purpose to edge things along to a foiinal rupture, and to frustrate 
the efforts which the government, with energy and in good faith, has made and 
is making to give a worthy and- satisfactory solution to the question of the 
foreign debt. . ' . 

That you may be thoroughly informed upon this question, and may appreciate 
accurately the conduct of the representatives of England and France during 
this last period, it may be convenient to give you a compendious review of the 
labors of the administration, and of the most important political events in the 
course of the last month. 

In the state in which things stood upon the organization, about the middle of 
July, of the present cabinet, no question presented so much importance as that 
of finance. The consolidation of reform, the pacification of the country, the 
establishment of the national dignity, the abolition of vexatious exactions, and 
ruinous operations for raising revenue, all depended upon the government bring- 
ing them about in a sure and regular mode. 

Hence sprung the idea of anticipating the receipt in the general treasury of 
all the federal revenues without any exception, and of organizing the army and 
tke civil service with the strictest economy, completing this reform by framing 
an economical estimate as far as possibly could be done. The government, 
therefore, since the publication of the decree of the 17th of July, has been 
engaged in dictating the most stringent orders for giving effect to the consolida- 
tion of the revenues in the general treasury, in framing the estimate, which it 
has succeeded in reducing to little moi'e than eight millions, and in regulating 
the civil service and the armed force upon a footing and groundwork which is 
given in detail in the said estimate, and which may satisfy all the desires of 
public opinion on the head of economy. But these labors, fertile for the future, 
cannot yield any immediate fruits of alleviation and of regailarity in the public 
finance ; the disturbed condition of the ordinary communications with the coasts 
and the frontier States, the habits sprung up among the governments of the 
States of not respecting the federal revenues, and the pretext at this time given 
for it by the ne^ssity of exterminating at some points the armed residuum of 
the reaction, made necessary some interval of measures progressively energetic 
and eftective until Mexico realizes the receipt of all the returns from the custom- 
houses ; on the other hqjnd, the mosf important savings, which are those con- 
nected with the organization of the army, could not for the most part be instan- 
taneously reduced to practice with the forces that are actually in campaign, the 
estimate for which it was indispensable to provide for in some manner so as not 
to paralyze operations. It followed from all this that, before reaching the fruits 
of the administrative arrangement proclaimed in the middle of July, an interval 
must be passed through of serious difficulties, and that their solution was a pre- 
liminary question. The solution on which the government decided was to seek 
some way by virtue of which the revenues which were scattered among the mari- 
time custom-houses should be gathered in here at once, and to this (siul an under- 
standing was had with the most influential individuals among the merchants and * 
capitalists, combining arrangements into which very strong inducements entered 
tliat could do no less thaa be of common benefit. Among the documents 
annexed to this note you will find the conditions of this arrang(!ment. But 
because of it the systematic and implacable hostility of the French minister, 
and the efficient aid lent him by Mr. Wyke, has made itself especially noticeable. 
Both have given foreign merchants to understand, almost at the beginning of 



96 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

the arrangement indicated, that every combination coijjiected with the returns 
from tlie maritime ciistom-houses was very dangerous, because they might be 
occupied at any moment by the naval forces of England and France. These 
ill-intended intimations frustrated the combination referred to, and the govern- 
ment, obliged to push forward vigoroufjly the military operations in order to 
realize the important triumph which it obtained on the 14th over Marquez and 
his people, found itself under the necessity of ordering the extraordinary con- 
tribution from capital, of which the decree, included among the documents 
annexed, makes mention. Upon the ground of this odious and repugnant mea- 
sure which was forced upon the government by these same foreign ministers, 
they have attempted to cany out a new class of hostilities. The legations of 
England and France, so condescending towards Zuloaga and Miramon on the 
four occasions when they decreed and collected the like imposts, have been 
at pains at this time to make of this business a question with the diplomatic 
body, and, were it not for the impartial and energetic rejection by the minister 
of the United States, would have attained their object. Failing of this, they 
have instructed their countrymen to resist by all possible means the collection 
of the contribution. The minister of Prussia, under the guise of friendly 
advice, came to make, orally, at this department, a movement against the impost 
decreed. The charge d'affaires of Ecuador addressed to me afterwards a note 
upon the same subject, a note which, with the correspondent reply, you will find 
among the annexed documents. 

The measures Mr, de Saligny has been pleased to take to occasion difficulties 
to the government have not stopped at this. 

The news of the complete rout which Marquez and his followers suffered on 
the 14th was received in Mexico with spontaneous demonstrations of popular 
rejoicing, but without any cornmingling of anything threatening, even against the 
co-religionists of the conquered faction. Those demonstrations, notwithstanding-, 
lent opportunity to Mr. de Saligny to give the diplomatic corps to understand 
that he had been the object of an insult, and even of an attempted assassination, 
and, to induce the other ministers to address the collective note, which, with the 
reply and the rejoinder to which it gave place, goes also with the annexed doc- 
uments. As these notes indicate, there took place, on the occasion, a zealoiisly 
conducted judicial investigation, the principal documents in which I send to you 
in copy, and which has. placed beyond all doubt that the complaint of Mr. de 
Saligny had not the slightest foundation. 

The coincidence of this episode with the triumph of the £#ms of the gov- 
ernment over the factions headed by Marquez was nothing but the merest acci- 
dent. Mr. de Saligny, who uses his time to give all his moral support to the 
reaction ; who gave asylum to some of its leaders ; w]|o has sheltered ex-Gen- 
eral Roblcs until within a few days, when he slipped away furtively from the 
capital to the interior; who, abusing the immunities of his domicile, has covered 
the correspondence between the military reactionists and those in refuge at the 
French legation ; who has converted this into a focus of permanent conspiracy, 
which, published without the least concealment that the advent to power of a 
party of ultraists was close at hand, naturally took part in the dejection of the 
reactionary faction, on account of the feat of arras which occurred on the 14th, 
and perhaps had no other way of neutralizing the effect of that event than to 
make an unmerited and clamorous imputation against the progressive party. 
The allusion to the recent triumphs of government over the factions presents an 
opportunity to call yoitr attention to the fact that, notwithstanding the embarrass- 
ments with which the government was to struggle before the fruits of the decree 
of the 17th of July can be practically realized, this arrangement has already 
proved to be very salutary, because the advantages obtained over the armed fac- 
tion are exactly such as what the government, strengthened by the resources 
which the law cited, placed in its hands, could seasonably expect from the forces 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 97 

of General Ortega, which, otherwise, would have kept in position, giving room 
for the reaction to gather great increase. In virtue of these very measures it 
has become possible to re-establish the safety of the road between Mexico and 
Vera Cruz ; it enabled it to move eastwardly a considerable force for the pur- 
pose of clearing the States of Tlascala and Puebla from the lingering bands 
which roam through them, and will be able to cause the main body of the army 
to set off to-day or to-morrow, in the direction of Queretaro, to give the final 
blow to reaction, by falling on the body imder command of Mejia. The recent 
rout of Marc[uez has had a most important political effect. There was before 
much clamor about the lukewarmness and carelessness which, it was said, was 
entertained by some of the governors for the authorities of the union. The 
inaction of Doblado, although lie had at Guanajuato nearly six thousand men, 
appeared to corroborate such rumors; but, since the event at Talatlaco, the 
spirit of loyalty and of constitutionalism has become very perceptible in the 
States, and Mr. Doblado himself has addressed to the president protestations of 
sincerity and of adhesion, and has moved with his forces to Queretaro to operate 
in the Sierra in concert with the troops which are going from Mexico. The 
immediate result of these movements will be to re-establish, in a durable man- 
ner, communication with the interiorr ; to put an end to depredations to which 
the people of the villages near Sierra have been victims, and to give to the situ- 
ation a normal character, which will influence public confidence very much, and 
will put an end to the prostration of trade and the excessive scarcity of a cur- 
rency. By that time the government will begin to see the fruits of the meas- 
ures it has dictated for concentrating the revenues, and distributing them method- 
ically and economically; then will be the time when it can be said that the 
constitution and public order rest on a solid foundation. All this, if Providence 
permits it to happen, will be the fruit of the law of 17th July, and of the labors 
half hidden, but substantial and most important, which have occupied the gov- 
ernment during the last month. If the prospective which I have laid before 
you be realized, the nation will never repent having decided to use the funds of 
the Penaud agreement, deposited in the montepio, (provident fund,) and to send 
them to the camp of General Ortega, whose forces, now victorious over Mar- 
quez, were on the point of perishing with want. But this prospective which I 
have sketched may be dissipated like a mist if the ministers of France and Eng- 
land come forth successfully from their effort to draw down upon Mexico hos- 
tilities on the part of these two nations. The hopes of the republic to avert 
this danger rest on you, and your patriotism and acknowledged intelligence are 
essential guarantees of the situation which I have, in a friendly manner, inter- 
posed to describe. ******* 
In speaking of the measures brought into play by Mr. de Saligny to depans- 
ciate our government, and give plausible explanations of his conduct, I forgot 
to tell you of an incident which it is proper to bring to your knowledge. By a 
former packet I sent you a copy of the correspondence had Avith the French 
legation about the delivery of the funds proceeding from the Penaud agreement, 
Tou would perceive that the government steadily refused that delivery, resting 
on the very text of the said agreement. Upon my coming into the department, 
Mr. de Saligny stated to me that the delivery of those funds ought to be 
arranged before any other business, and assured me that lie had in his hands an 
order of the government tliat they should be delivered to him, and had obtained 
from the president and my predecessor a verbal promise bearing tlie same mean- 
ing, iu presen«e of all the diplomatic corps. I immediately ascertained that 
neither the one nor the other was certain. All that the president and minister 
of foreign relations promised in effect to the minister of France, on an occasion 
upon which he came to the palace accompanied by others, his colleagues, was 
that the said fund, which had been for the moment taken on the day of a battle, 
would again be placed anew in deposit in the montepio before a week's end. 

H. Fx. Doc. 100 7 



"98 THE PEESEKT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

This promise was religiously observed. Mr. de Saligny, notwithstanding, made 
the other ministers believe that this return was never made, and says publicly 
that the diplomatic corps is ready to bear witness that the president and minister 
of foreign relations gave him their word of honor to make to him personally 
delivery of the fund deposited in the mentepio. By means of this confusion of 
particulars, and of this vile intrigue, he has succeeded in presenting the govern- 
ment to the public, and to the diplomatic corps, as regardless of its word of 
honor. This imputation may figure among the reports of Mr. de Saligny to 
his court, and it has appeared to me proper to explain to you the facts in 
detail. * * . . * * 

In view of what precedes you will not think that I dwell too much upon my 
recommendations that you should endeavor to rectify the unfaithful and angry " 
reports which Mr. de Saligny will, without doubt, make to his government 
u.pon the points to which I have above adverted, and that you may call the 
attention of the French government strongly to the marked effort of its repre- 
sentative to embitter the relations with Mexico by exciting embarrassment 
and difficulties in its administration, and inventing and publishing intimations 
intended to neutralize in public opinion the effect of those labors of organiza- 
tion which engage the government, and the advantages it obtains over its 
enemies. * * * * 

It also seems to be of much importance that in France as well as in England 
it should be understood that the Mexican government is disposed to accept any 
equitable and practicable solution on the question of the conventions ; that it 
had thought over various projects to this end, and had set at work all possible 
means to discover some extraordinary aid that would allow it to meet the public 
debt without detriment to other administrative measures which cannot be set 
aside. ****** 

It is of equal importance, in the belief of this government, that it should not 
permit to be passed by without notice the practical advantages which it has 
attained by the suspension of payment, notwithstanding the resistance which 
this measure has produced, and the hostility growing out of it, by which the 
government has been brought to a stand. 

It is very proper also to set right the exaggerations relating to the attempts 
upon the persons and property of foreigners, which are said to be made and 
making in Mexico, that it should be understood that in enlarging upon the 
reality of this matter there is a systematic purpose, and that if the government 
wishes to resort to active measures it is precisely because it is anxious to re- 
establish security throughout the republic. It is well to call attention to the 
fact that the greater part of tlie attacks which are discussed are the work of the 
rebel faction, to which the representatives of England and France are lending 
moral aid at this very moment. 

It is proper you should know and make it understood in Europe that the two 
last-mentioned diplomatists have, respectively, procured an organ in the press in 
this capital, and that the Estafelle and the Mexican Extraordinary receive the 
impassioned inspirations of Messrs. Wyke and Saligny, and give the most 
inexact and malicious versions of passing events. * * # 

I protest to you on this occasion the assurances of my distinguished con- 
sideration. ' ZAMACONA. 

Don Antonio De La Fuente, 

Mimister Plenipotentiary of the Mexican Reptihlic at Paris. 

Mexico, August 29, 1861. 
A true copy. JUAN DE D. ARIAS. 

"Washington, September 21, 1861. 
A true copy. ROMERO 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 99 

No. 26. 
[Translation. — Extract.] 

Mexican Legation to France, 

Paris, Septemher 5, 1861. 
Our relations with France and England have come to a very lamentable state. 
You will see by the copy, no less than by the slips annexed, the disposition of 
the French government, and what may be presumed of that of England, towards 
the Mexican republic. 

But I must recommend to you very specially the article from the " Times," of 
London, in which it is assumed that, by giving a certain latitude to foreign inter- 
vention, it will appear to be acceptable to the United States ; and upon this it 
appears to me to be useless to press upon your intelligence and zeal what this 
and that will place before you with clearness. I desire to speak of the impor- 
tance of doing everything possible to withhold the government of the American 
LTnion from any participation in this intrigue, and to incline to get rid of it if it 
should have been given. * * * * . * * - 

I reiterate the assurances of my special and distinguished consideration. 

JUAN ANTONIO DE LA FUENTE. 
Don Matias Eomero, 

Charge d' Affaires of the Mexican Repuhlic, Washington. 

Washington, September 21, 1861. 
A true copy. 

EOMERO. 



No. 27. 
[Translation . — Extract.] 



No. 34.] Mexican Legation to France, 

Paris, September 4, 1861. 

Unhappily, I have yesterday seen realized the apprehension which you men- 
tioned to me in your note No. 41, dated 31st August last past. The measures 
adopted by the governments of France and England, ki consequence of the law 
published the 17th July, are openly hostile to us, and I believe you Avill be 
informed of them when this despatch reaches your hands. 

You already know, by my note referred to, that I could not o"btain an audieaee 
which I had asked from the minister here for the 31st August, and that he fixed 
one for yesterday, 3d of March. The conference took place on the day, and 
lasted only a few minutes. I commenced by saying I had received from my 
government special instruction and charge to give to that of his Majesty the 
most ample explanations, upon what affected the subjects of France, under the 
new law, in virtue of which suspension of payment of the national debt was 
ordered. 

Mr. Thouvenel interrupted me, by saying that personally he had no dissatis- 
faction towards me ; but he could not hear those explanations. " We will 
receive none," he added, giving way to the greatest excitement. " We have 
fully appi'oved the conduct of Mr. de Saligny; we have issued our orders, in 
concert with England, that a squadron, composed of "S'essels of both nations, ex- 
act from the government of Mexico due satisfaction, and your government shall 
learn from our minister and our admiral what are the claims of France. I have 



100 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

nothing against yoii, I again say, and I wish that events would pemiit me to 
address you in more friendly language." "But it is very sad," said I, in turn, 
" that such a reply should be given to so just and simple a request as that which 
I have now made in the name of my government. But he it as it may, after 
the words you have addressed to me I ought not to insist for a moment that you 
should listen to me, nor is there any motive for continuing this conversation ;" 
and I cut it shoi-t, withdrawing without delay. 

The first consequence of this interview, in respect of the legation which I 
have the honor to conduct, is the interruption of diplomatic relations with the 
government of France. The declaration of Mr. Thouvenel, refusing to listen to 
what I had to say to him in the name of my government, the orders to employ 
force against my country, and the approval accorded to the conduct of Mr. de 
Saligny, which broke the relations with the federal government, everything 
pressed me to close this affair. To this end I addressed a note to-day to Mr. 
Thouvenel, copy of which I enclose. 

The second consequence is, the unsuitableness of my presentation to the gov- 
ernment of England for the purpose of being received as minister from Mexico, 
because it is almost certain that this step would bring with it a new slight,. such 
as we have just had here. I am also impeEed to decide in this manner from 
the notice already sufficiently intelligible that in England, where it originated, 
and where it is most current, the shameless plot is on foot for European inter- 
vention in the policy and government of our country. You will have the good- 
ness to look at, in my correspondence of to-day, the note in which I discuss this 
question. ******** 

Before closing this note 1 must say that if I have not asked for my passports, 
it has been that so serious a measure was not necessary, either in accordance 
with usage or the condition of things which might, perhaps, be brought about 
by some occurrence ; and on the other hand, I believe that my remaining here 
may well be of some service to the republic. 

I repeat to you, sir, the assurances of my distinguished consideration. 

JUAN ANTONIO DE LA FUENTE. 

His ExceUency the Minister of F'oreign Relations, Mexico. 

A cop3^ 

ANDRES OSEGUERA. 

Washington, Septembei- 21, 1861. 
A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 28. 
[Translation.] 

Legation of the Mexican Republic at Paris, 

Paris, Septemher 4, 1861. 

Mr. Minister : As, in our conference of yesterday, your excellency showed 
me that you would not listen at all to the explanations which, by express order 
of my government, I was charged to make to you, having regard to the new 
Mexican law relative to the suspension of the payment of the national debt so 
far as this measure affects subjects of France; inasmuch as your excellency 
added that his Majesty's government had in all points approved the conduct of 
Mr. de' Saligny, who, because of that law, declared his official relations with 
my government internipted ; and, in fine, according to what your excellency 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO, 101 

stated to me, tliat, acting entirelj in concert with the government of England, 
orders had been given that the minister of France in Mexico and his Majesty's 
admiral should come to an understanding with my government, your excellency 
will consider it to be very natural and very proper that I should accept the 
reality of this situation, hard and unexpected as it may appear to me, and should 
infer the necessary consequence — that the essential purpose of my mission is 
obstructed ; that is to say, regular communication with the government of his 
Majesty consecrated to the maintenance and cultivation of peace, especially 
when differences have arisen likely to disturb it ; that, in fact, I am no longer 
the organ of my government with the government of his Majesty ; and, in fine, 
that the suspension of diplomatic relations between France and Mexico, and 
the nature of those which are about to replace them, place me in the painful 
but necessary extremity of declaring, as a fact independent of my will, (a fact 
which I should see put out of the way with intense gratification,) that this lega- 
tion suspends its relations with the government of his Majesty until that of 
Mexico give him instructions which may prescribe a different course. 

Accept, Mr. Minister, the fresh assurances of my most distinguished considera- 
tion. 

J. A. DE LA FUENTE. 

His Excellency Mr. Thouvenel, ^v., S^x:, ^v. 

A true copy. 

ANDRES OSEGUERA. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Romero. 



Department of State, 
Washington, September 24, 1861. 

Sir : I have read with much interest and instruction the papers relating to 
the differences between your country and several of the European States, which 
you submitted to me with your note of the 21st instant. 

It cannot, I think, be improper for me to say that these papers abundantly 
show that the Mexican government is entitled to very high respect, while the 
new embarrassments of your country cannot fail to awaken in her behalf a pro- 
found sympathy among the American people. 

I avail myself of this occasion to renew to you the assurances of my highest 
consideration. 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Senor Don Matias Romero, Sfv., S^v., Sjv. 



[Translati«n.] 
Mr. Romero ^o Mr. Seward. 



Mexican Legation of the United States, 

Washington, September 30, 1861. 
Mr. Secretary: It being now beyond all doubt, as is shown by the most 
recent advices from Europe, that the Spanish govennnent lias determined to com- 
bine its action with that of France and England in the aggressive measures 
which those powers are preparing to take against Mexico, and to move hostUely, 



102 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

at once and without them, against that republic, we think proper, in virtue of 
the relations of friendship and good neighborhood which bind Mexico and the 
United States, to state to you summarily, for the information of the government 
of this country, Avhat is the existing state of the questions pending between 
Mexico and Spain. 

Passing by the just and too numerous causes for complaint which Mexico has 
against the government of her Catholic Majesty as not belonging to the caise re- 
ferred to here, I will restrict myself to enumerating those Avhich the cabinet of 
Madrid alleges it has against the Mexican republic, because those may probably 
be Avhat has decided the assumption of the hostile attitude which is now being 
taken towards Mexico. 

These sufficient grievances are reducible to two: the first is, the expulsion from 
Mexico, decreed in January, 1861, of Don Joaquin Francisco Pacheco, who left 
Madrid the year before with the appointment of ambassador of her most Catholic 
Majesty; and the second is, that the Mexican government does not consider itself 
obhged to fulfil the stipulations of a singular document to which the name has 
been given, as pompous as inappropriate, of " Tratado Mon AlmonteP 

In regard to the first"," I had the honor to show to your department, under date 
of February 4, of the year last past, what were the motives which determined 
the government of Mexico to order the expulsion of Mr. Pacheco whose con- 
tmuance in the country was considered as incompatible with the maintenance of 
peace and public tranquillity, from the active participation he had taken in the 
civil war which then aJffected the republic, and from the decided measures he 
took to sustain the rebel faction, which ended in defeat by the people of Mexico. 

As, unfortunately, Mr. Pacheco had left his country invested with the high 
character of representative of her most Catholic Majesty, the enemies of Mexico, 
who desire to provoke foreign wars, to profit by means of them, availed them- 
selves of the incident to endeavor to cause the belief that by the expulsion of 
Mr. Pacheco, the government of Spain was insulted, in which opinion the gov- 
ernment at Madrid did not hesitate to become a partaker. 

The government of Mexico has declared repeatedly, in various official docu- 
ments, that it was not its intention in any manner to offend that of her Catholic 
Majesty, with which it sincerely desires to arrange the pending differences, and 
to re-establish that accordance of good relations which ought to exist between 
both countries, because no official character, whatever, was observed in Mr. Pa- 
checo, because he had never been accredited near the constitutional government,, 
and was, in fact, nothing else than a foreigner, who, by his imprudent conduct, 
had placed himself in the category of those whom the Mexican laws denominate 
Si's, pernicious. Among the copies Avhich I have the honor to enclose of v docu- 
ments noticed in the annexed index, you will find two circulars which were 
published opportunely, and which confirm what I have just said. 

The government of Mexico, however, did more; it gave instructions to a 
minister, whom it sent to Paris in May last, that he might go to Madrid to make 
these explanations directly to that of her Catholic Majesty, fully empowering 
him at the same time to conclude a settlement of the differences then 2)ending. 
It seems scarcely credible that the Spanish government Avhich, for seven months 
had been writing to hear these explanations, without meantime resorting to vio- 
lent measures, should take them in hand just when on the eve of receiving such 
explanations. 

The treaty called Mon Almonte, was signed at Paris on the 26th September, 
1859, by Don Juan N. Almonte, in the name of the rebels who occupied the 
city of Mexico, but could not represent the Mexican republic, because they had 
risen in revolt against the constitution of the country, and were evading the ob- 
servance of its laws to such degree that the constitutional government of the 
republic, which h^-d been lawfully elected by the people, and had not ceased to 
exist for a single instant, was sojourning for the time at Vera Cruz ; was recog- 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



103 



nizsd, strengthened and upheld by three-cj[uarters of the Mexican territory, and 
an immense majority of the Mexican people, and had been acknowledged as the 
sole government of Mexico since April, 1859, by the United States. The cir- 
cumstance of the non-residence of the government in the city of Mexico, which 
had been before, and is now again the capital of the country, and that the rebels 
were acknowledged as the government of the republic by three or four European 
powers, could in no way change the nature of the rebellion, nor cause the fun- 
damental laws of Mexico to lose their power. 

The representative of the constitutional government at Paris protested re- 
peatedly against the conclusion of the convention, before and after it wa& 
signed. The government of Mexico also solemnly protested against it as soon 
as it had notice of its conclusion, and in anticipation had formally declared that 
the rebels lacked the authority to pledge the nation, and that settlements whicL 
might be made with them would be null and of no avail. Among the annexed, 
documents, I remit a copy of some of the protests to which that convention, 
gave rise. 

I avail of this opportunity to repeat to you, sir, the assurances of my distin- 
guished consideration. 

M. ROMERO. 

Hon. William H. Seward, 8fc., 8jv., 8^. 



[Translation.] 

Index of documents wJiich, with date of to-day, the Mexica?i legation remits to 
the Department oj" State oj" the United States, upon questions pending between 
Mexico and Spain, annexed to note of this date. 



No. 



3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

10 
11 

12 



FiODi whom and to whom. 



Date. 



1860. 

Mr. Ocampo to Mr Pacheco Jan. 12 

I Jan. 15 



I Jan. 25 

Mr. ZanotoMr. CalderonCoIlanty.! Feb. 21 

1859. 
.Mr. Lafrague to Mr. Ocampo. 



Mr Ocampo to Mr. Mata 

Mr. Lafrague to Mr. Almonte . 
Mr. Lafrague to Mr. Ocampo. . 
Mr. Lafrague to Mr. Ocampo.. 



July 


9 


June 


8 


Sept. 


26 


Dec. 


5 


Oct. 


4 


Oct. 


5 


Oct. 


22 


1860 


. 


Jan. 


20 



Contents. 



Order of expulsion. 

Circular to Mexican legations, stating 

the motive for the expulsion. 
Circular to the Mexican States. 
Explains the expulsion. 

Remitting protest. 

Protest. 

Monalmonte convention. 

Instructions. 

Protest. 

Copy of former protest. 

With protest No, 6. 

Protest of Mexican government. 



Washington, September 30, 1861. 



104 THE PEESENT CONDITION OE MEXICO. 

No. 1. 

[Translation.] 

Secretary of State and Foreign Relations, 

■Mexico, January 12, 1861. 
His excellency the constitutional president ad interim cannot regard you but 
as one of the enemies of his government for the services you have rendered in 
favor of the rebel usurpers who have occupied this city for the past three years. 
For this he orders that you depart from this and the republic without further 
delay than may be strictly necessary to prepare and make your journey. 

As all other friendly nations, his excellency the president respects Spain, 
but your sojourn in the republic cannot longer continue. The consideration 
which moves his excellency to this resolution is therefore entirely personal. 

OOAMPO. 
To Sr. D. Francisco Pacheco. 

Certified to by Benito Gomez Farias, under secretary. 

Washington, September 30, 1861. 
True copy. 

« EOMERO. 



No. 2. 
[Translation.] 

Department of State and Office of Foreign Affairs^ 

National Palace, Mexico, January 15, ISGl. 

In order that you may bring to the knowledge of the minister of foreign 
relations of the government near which you are accredited, the reasons why the 
president has thought proper to order the departure from the republic, of Mes- 
sieurs Don Joaquin Francisco Pacheco, Don Felipe Nery del Barrio, and Don 
Louis dementi, archbishop of Damascus, as you will see by the printed com- 
munications which accomjDany this note. I proceed to make a short statement 
with regard thereto. 

Mr. Pacheco came to the republic not long since, accredited expressly in the 
character of ambassador of her Catholic Majesty near the government (so called) 
which occupied this capital, and of which Don Miguel Miramon acted as chief. 

A few days after his arrival he caused himself to be officially received by the 
rebel government, and besides the support which, in his official character, he 
thus lent to the faction which had succeeded in holding possession of the capital 
during the past three years, he, by his policy, his expressed opinions and his 
open influence, lent himself to the maintenance of the rebel government and the 
prolongation of the civil war. 

The constitutional government of the i*epublic, which has never ceased to 
exist and to discharge its functions during this long period of civil war, not- 
withstanding its official relations with Spain have been interrupted, does not 
actually see in Mr. Pacheco the representative of her Catholic Majesty, with 
whose government the constitutional government of the republic desires to cul- 
tivate the best relations, and is ready to terminate existing differences in good 
will, regulating itself always by the j)rinciples of the strictest justice; but in 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 105 

ordering the departxire of Mr. Pacheco from the country, the government does 
so simply in the exercise of its prerogatives, viewing him only as a foreigner 
falling under the stipulations of the thirty-third article of our constitution. 

Mr. iSTery del Barrio, for a long time minister of G-uatemala, accredited to this 
republic, has not only had continued official relations with the rebels during the 
last three years, but has made his open partiality for the reactionary faction — 
to which he lent his most decided support in the unhappy " couj^ d^etai'^ of 
December, 1857 — a matter of public notoriety. 

This minister was almost the first who hastened to recognize the usurper, 
Zuloaga, and avIio mainly induced other members of the diplomatic corps to do 
the same. Notwithstanding, he took this unjustifiable step with the knowledge 
that the existing constitutional government was la;wfully installed at Guanajuato 
iu January, 1858, 

The constitutional government cannot allow this gentleman, thus abusing his 
position, to continue fomenting civil war. For this reason it causes his depart- 
ure from the republic, without intending, however, that such a measure of internal 
policy should in any degree imply a hostile spirit towards the republic of Gua- 
temala, which Mr. del Barrio has represented. 

Don Louis Clementi has held in this country the mission of nuncio from his 
Holiness the Pope. His disposition, and the general tone of the roman court 
which he has represented, has caused him to figure throughout the civil war as 
a partisan of the seditious clergy of the republic, who to the greatest degree have 
stained with blood the past revolution in this country-Minder the pretext of 
religion. 

NoAv that the Mexican republic has, in the exercise of its sovereign power, 
declared religious liberty and the absolute independence of each other of church 
and State, the official representative of the Roman court can have no mission 
whatever to attend to near the general government of the republic. 

Neither of these gentlemen has been officially accredited near the constitu- 
tional government for the last three years. Consequently, their expulsion sig- 
nifies nothing more than an act of public order, which is carried into effect 
through the provisions of the supreme law of the land, and in the exercise of 
the prerogatives with which the government is invested. * * * * 

Renewing the expressions of my consideration, I am, etc.. 

OCAMPO. 

To , Mexican Legation, at . 

Washington, Sej^tember 30, 1861. 
True copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 3. 

[Traaslation.] 

Circulao'. 

Department of State and Office of Foreign Affairs, 

Mexico, January 25, 1861. 

Upon the establishment again of the supreme government in the capitol of the 
republic, one of its first acts was to order the departure from the republic 
of Messieurs D. Francisco Pacheco, D. Felipe Nery del Barrio, and D. Louis 
Clementi, Archbishop of Damascus. 

With respect to Senor Pacheco, it had as a reason for his departure the 
palpable fact that upon his entry into tlie republic, by way of the port of Vera 
Cruz, where was located the legitimate government, this gentleman, far from 



106 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

making known his official character and maintaining a clue neutrality, in view 
of the unfortunate circumstances of the country, which could not escape his at- 
tention, directed himself at once to this capitol, although there did not exist 
here any government until the return to this city of D. Miguel Miramon, when 
he being replaced in a very strange manner in the presidency of the revolution- 
ary government, Sefior Pacheco hastened to present himself to him as ambassa- 
dor of Spain, recognizing Miramon just in the moments when, defeated at Silao, 
there only remained to him the shadow of power, which, thanks to the prestige 
lent to htm by the recognition of this same Seiior Pacheco, he was able to pro- 
long for a few days more, during which the rebellious faction had time to per- 
petrate new scandals and to still further compromise the peace and good name 
of the country. 

Besides, public opinion revolted at the presence of Senor Pacheco, and the gov- 
ernment was obliged to obey its dictates, for it pointed him out as one of the per- 
sons whose influence had the most strongly and openly favored the reaction. 

With reference to Seiior Nery del Barrio, his acts in favor of the so-called 
government of the reactionary party were a matter of public notoriety, and 
there applied to him nearly the same reasons which operated to cause the de- 
parture of Senor Pacheo, and consequently his departure from the country was 
also a matter of necessity. 

Senor D. Louis Clementi, Archbishop of Damascus, had not any diplomatic 
character, and being manifest, as it clearly is, the great part which the clergy 
have taken in the struggle which has now been brought to so happy a termina- 
tion, it was not only jiist but a public necessity that he should leave the country. 

In expelling him, the only consideration was his open intervention in the af- 
fairs of the country, and not in any manner his religious character, because the 
government has proclaimed and will always respect enthe freedom of religion. 

Such have been the reasons which have actuatexl these measures, which are 
purely personal, and need not affect in any manner the amicable relations which 
Mexico has maintained with friendly powers. 

The constitutional government, which is directing all its efforts to the perma- 
nent establishment of the peace of the country, and which esteems and respects 
Spain and Guatemala, and the Pontifical States, the same as all other nations 
with which it is bound by solemn treaties, will not omit any means whatever to 
maintain with all the most perfect harmony, and to augment and render more inti- 
mate their friendly relations, and will endeavor to act towards all with strict jus- 
tice, in order that the dignity and good name of the republic shall not be in any 
way compromised. 

In saying this to you for your knowledge and that of the inhabitants of the 
State over which you worthily preside, it is also my duty to recommend to your 
excellency, in an especial manner, that all foreigners be fully protected in all the im- 
munities and guarantees which are seciired to them by international law and by 
treaties ; that the tribunals administer to them speedy justice, that they extend 
to them the protection required by our laws, and by the high character of the 
cause they sustain ; and very particularly, under the present circumstances, to 
Spanish subjects and citizens of Guatemala, in testimony that the government 
is very far from considering the repulsion of the said Seiiores Pacheco, Del Bar- 
rio, and Clementi in any other manner than a question purely personal. 

I take pleasure, with this occasion, in renewing to your excellency the assur- 
ances of my esteem and consideration. God, liberty, and reform. 

ZARCO. 

His Excellency the Governor of the State of . 

Washington, ^eptemher 30, 1861. 
True copy. 

ROMERO 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 107 

No. 4. 

[TvaDsIation ] 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

National Palace, Mexico, February 21, 1861. 

The undersigned, secretary of foreign relations of the Mexican republic, has 
the honor to address himself to the secretary of state for foreign relations of her 
Catholic Majesty ou the subject of the departure of Don Joaquin Francisco 
Pacheco from this republic, and of the reasons and circumstances which gave 
motive for it. 

When Mr. Pacheco arrived at the port of Vera Cruz the supreme government 
of the nation was resident in that city; and whilst from respect for it, and for 
what is due to impartiality and to justice, and to the laws of neutrality which 
govern the intercourse of nations, and the conduct of their diplomatic agents 
abroad as ministers of peace, Mr. Pacheco, endued with a high official character, 
ought to have recognized and presented himself to this government, whose cour- 
tesy observed for him considerations of every kind; the said gentleman had 
none for the legitimate authority which permitted him to enter the country freely, 
and he immediately took his way towards the capital of the republic, where he 
announced his official character at the time precisely in which, in that city, there 
existed not even the shadow of a government, which the rebel creAV that for 
three years had to no purpose stained the country Avith blood, had erected. 

At the time of the arrival of ]\Ir. Pacheco at this capital, Don Miguel Mira- 
mon had broken and lost even what he called titles to authority Avhich had been 
given him by Don Felix Zuloaga, by assuming the chief authority over the revo- 
lutionary faction, an authority which Zuloaga attempted to reassume, and which 
Don Miguel Miramon refused to give over to him. 

Such a state of things, which wru the logical and natural result of the prin- 
ciples adopted by the men who sought to arrogate to themselves, and were 
quarrelling among themselves about the chief power over the nation, without 
having obtained even for a single day, either its sanction or even its assent, 
compelled the diplomatic corps which was then in Mexico to disregard them, 
and in effect they were disregarded, not without one of the foreign representa- 
tives having made explicit declarations on which he formed his resolution to 
leave the capital, breaking off all relations with those who ruled there. 

But although in this way Don Felix Zuloaga, as Avell as Don Miguel Mira- 
mon, were themselves absent upon the arrival of Mr. Pacheco, their authority 
did not extend a foot beyond the precincts of three cities, and Miramon, finally 
routed at Siloa, lost at that battle every trace of his supposed poAver. He re- 
turned aftenvards to the city of Mexico without any force or prestige, and it 
Avas precisely at that time, Avhen, to the general astonishment, Mr. Pacheco re- 
cognized him as the supreme magistrate of the nation, and presented himself in 
his official character as the reprcsentatiA'c of her Catholic Majesty ; thus, at least, 
lending his moral support to the rebel band, and thus contributing, as he best 
could, to the prolongation of the civil Avar Avhich Avas then touching upon its 
close. 

Divine Providence chose, notAvithstanding, that the rebellion should succumb 
a little wliile after, crushed beneath the Aveight of its own crimes and by the 
sovereign will of the entire nation. 

This result, assuredly glorious, because it was not stained by any acts such 
as usually accompany those of its kind, came, nevertheless, Avith the omnipotent 
force of truth to place in strong light the acts and vindicate the pi-ivileges aAvhile 



108 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

disregarded, of justice and of legitimacy, and in consequence, precisely because 
of the loyalty aud proper spirit -which governs the public sentiment of the 
country, it demanded on the close of the war that those should depart at once 
who were considered as causes of its disorders and misfortunes. Tlie knowledge 
and conviction of those causes dwelt in the consciou.sness of the nation, and, in 
that of the government, the obligation to provide at once for what the public 
advantage required, by thus removing all motives for further disorders and dis- 
turbances. 

It was however painful, but obligatory, to remember that the conduct of Mr. 
Pacheco had been partial, as, in consequence of his actions public sentiment had 
pronounced it to be, and the government, in examining it, neither could nor had 
any reason to acknowledge liim in a public character, because in his recognition 
of an expiring faction he disregarded the sovereignty of the nation, and its le- 
gitimate and ever unbroken government, and thus regarding the matter as en- 
tirely personal, his withdrawal was settled upon, providing withal that every 
accommodation should be at his call. 

This true and simple narrative will of itself suffice to explain satisfactorily, 
the retke-Lnent of Mr. Pacheco, and the undersigned discharges the grateful duty 
of solemnly declaring that, that personal and individual incident in no wise affects 
or lessens the frank and loyal desire which animates the government of Mexico 
to maintain, cultivate, and strengthen with that of her Catholic Majesty the 
closest and most cordial relations. That, if it has indeed protested upon occa- 
sion, and repeatedly and publicly, against any treaty convention or arrangement 
emanating from the faction which, in the city of Mexico, assumed for itself the 
name of government, because for such treaties, conventions, or arrangements, no 
individual had any personality or lawful mission derived from the nation, whose 
great majority not only had never conceded to it the least right, but had striven 
without ceasing for three years to exterminate it, this does not hinder the gov- 
ernment of the republic, firm in its purpose to do justice, from directing, with 
the efficient co-operation of the enlightened government of her Catholic Majesty, 
their efforts for the smoothing away to a happy end, the differences which may 
have arisen between Mexico and Spain, by resorting to whatever means are 
afforded by sound justice, by the probity, and the mutual respect of the two 
nations. 

Nothing will be more grateful to the Mexican people and its government 
than to see re-established, frankly and honorably, the perfect understanding and 
cordial agreement which should never have been interrupted between the two 
countries, considering the friendly spirit which has always influenced Mexico 
in her relations with the Spanish nation. 

Under these impressions, and in the assurance that the government of her 
Catholic Majesty is animated by like sentiments and desires, it will be very 
satisfactory to that of the republic to receive or send one of the many persons of 
talent, taste, and probity, who abound in both countries, and be able, through 
his adjustments, to give that strength and elevation to their fraternal relations 
which shall equal in degree that which their name, their civilization, and their 
mutual interests demand. The present need of an agent of this kind, who ma}'- 
serve as the medium of communication between the two governments, compels 
the undersigned to address himself directly to his excellency the minister of 
state for foreign relations, and in doing so, to make the ingenuous exposition 
which, precedes, he must, by the assent of the president of the republic, here 
give utterance to the expression of the sincere wishes foimed by the government 
of Mexico for the prosperity and aggrandizement of the Spanish nation, and for 
the happy reign of its august sovereign. 

At the same time the undersigned has the honor to offer to his excellency the 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 109 

minister of state for the department of foreign relations, of lier Catholic Majesty, 
the assiirances of his high consideration, 

FRANCESCO ZARCO. 
His Excellency The Minister of State 

For Foreign Relations of Jier Catholic Majesty. 

Mexico, Marcl 18, 1861. 
A certified copy. 

ZARCO. 

Washington, September 30, 1861. 

A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 5. 
[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

Mexican Legation, near H. C. M., 

Paris, July 9, 1859. 
In compliance with your wish, expressed in your communication of May 3, last, 
I have the honor to send herewith an authenticated copy of the new protest I 
have made, which I shall at onc€ print and put in circulation, that it may pro- 
duce the effect which the constitutional government may desire. 
I renew to you the assurances of my distinguished consideration, 

J. M. lafragua. 

His Excellency Don Melchoo Ocampo, 

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vera Oruz. 

Washington, September 30, 1861. 

A true copy. • 

ROMERO. 



No. 6. 

[Translation.] 

Department of State, 
Legation of Mexico, near H. C. M. 

From the time when, in January, 1858, constitutional order was disturbed im 
the United Mexican States, the settlement of the differences pending between 
Mexico, and began to be considered as certain ; this opinion was founded on a 
knowledge of the ideae Avhicli the administration that triumphed in the capitol 
of the republic, professed, and on the conduct, unhappily almost uniform, of all 
parties in the world which reprehend that done by an adversary, not so much 
for reasons of intrinsic justice, as- upon considerations of political couveniency. 

During all the past year European periodicals, those of Spain especially, 
have announced the settlement indicated, until within a few months it has been 
affirmed to be a business definitely concluded. The supreme constitutional gov- 
ernment kept silent while the couveutiou was more or less probable, but now 
that it is announced as an act consummated, it has considered that it should 



110 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

speak in the name of tlie natiou, because, although to save the rights and 
interests of the Mexican people, the protest which, on the 16th March, 1858, I 
made and published in this capital, and which I repeated on the 6th July, in 
the city of Berlin, is without doubt sufficient, it is also very proper to repro- 
duce it now that it may not at any time be alleged that the silence of the legit- 
imate government was a tacit consent. In fact, in a note of the 3d of May, the 
minister of foreign relations notifies me that I should "at once make a fresh 
protest, insisting especially against the article upon indemnity." 

Wanting in official data about the before-mentioned convention, I am obliged 
to limit myself in judging of them to the advices published in the journals of 
Madrid. According to them the government presided over by General Zuloaga 
had agreed to punish the offenders, to indemnify the losses occasioned, and to 
fulfil fairly and plainly the treaty of the 12th November, 1853; that is, it has 
acceded to the three propositions which the Marquis de Pidal presented to me in 
June, 1857, as bases for the settlement of the differences between both countries. 
I will say nothing about the first; for its justice being acknowledged by me, 
I accepted it without any difficiilty. As for the third, it is sufficient to reflect 
that the government of the republic has never refused to fulfil the treaty, and 
that I offered its fulfilment despite its intrinsic defects, but at the same time 
remonstrated against the improper introduction of some credits on the Spanish 
fund. The revision of these credits, which has been and is the only cause of 
dissatisfaction, was asked and maintained by Mexico from the 24th of March, 
1855; the Spanish government even yet does not respond to the note of that 
date ; it is therefore needless for me to dwell further on the demonstration of 
the magnitude of the consequences the nation must suffer if she precludes her- 
self from such revision, because it not only involves the burdening of the 
public funds with more than two millions of dollars, but gives the character 
of a foreign debt to that which is domestic, openly contravening the treaty of 
1836, the convention of 1851, and the very treaty itself of 1853. 

According to the first, Mexico ought to pay the debt anterior to her indepen- 
dence as "her own and national;" and Spain " desisted from any claim or pre- 
tension on this point, and declared the republic free and forever acquitted from 
all responsibility in this matter." The credits referred to are anterior to the in- 
dependence. 

In conformity to the second, the credits of "Spanish origi«," and ownership, 
"but not those which although of Spanish origin had passed into the ownership 
of citizens of another nation," could alone enter into the Spanish fund. The 
'^redits claim had belonged to Mexican citizens. 

According to the third " the credits which had already been examined and 
liquidated in conformity Avith the convention of 1851, remain legally acknowl- 
edged. Consequently, although sredits may have been admitted by Mexico, if 
t were shown that they v^^ere not in coHfonnity Avith the convention, must be 
excluded from the fund. This is the foundation and object of revision; this is 
the cause of the difference between Mexico and Spain; this is the just reason 
upon Avhich Mexico protests against the convention, and here, in fine, let it be 
said, is the want of justice wiih which the Spanish government refuses to admit 
of revision. The second proposition relating to indemnity for losses has been 
the fertile pretext for heaping abuse on my country and myself, without a single 
national foundation. " Mexico aWII indemnify losses," asked Mr. Pidal in his note 
of 23d June, 1857. Mexico Avill indemnify, I suggested on the 7th July, in 
accord Avith the representatives of France and England, "if it is proved illegally 
(legally?) that it is under any of those conditions in which, "according to the 
laws of nations," rulers are liable for the acts of their subjects. As this Avas 
not accepted. Lord Howden, on the same day, proposed, "Mexico will indemnify 
in conformity Avith the laws of nations." Mr. Pidal rejected this ; I accepted it. 

Where, then, is the refusal of Mexico to do justice '/ Where, then, the ini- 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. Ill 

quitous system which has been imputed to the government of the republic 1 On 
which side are morahty, the law of nations, and the civil law 1 Would Spain 
concede anj'thing more to France, or France to England ? Why, then, exact 
from Mexico what is not sought from any other people ? Great or small, rich 
or poor, well or ill- constituted, she is as sovereign as other nations of the earth ; 
and if she has the same duties as others she also has the same rights. 

This simple exposition is enough, faithfully accordant with truth, to demon- 
strate the intrinsic injustice of indemnity in decided terms. Well, then, if this 
proposition was valid in July, 1857, what will it be in June, 1857? If it was 
valid while the blood of the victims was still reeking, pending the proceedings, 
the truth ignored, the criminals living, and the law violated, what will it be 
when the victims are pacified, the causes disposed of, the facts known, the guilty 
punished, and the laws satisfied 1 If it were certain, when at least there was 
room for doubt, how will it be when there is nothing more than reason to think 1 
If, then, to grant indemnity at such time would be grave wrong done to the re- 
public, what will it be to concede it now 1 

In the horrible catalogue of crimes gratuitously imputed to Mexico, there 
figures prominently, participation in attacks upon some Spanish subjects, at- 
tributed not merely to secondary agents, but to high functionaries to the govern- 
ment, even of General Comonfort. It was idle to allege on well founded reason 
that morality, justice, public utility, and even private interests made the act 
impossible. It was idle to ask what convenience and what object the govern- 
ment could have to operate in such manner, because, even for the commission of 
crime there is need of a motive, an object, a result. It would be idle, in fine, to 
offer as proof, the constant prosecution of the criminals, the incessant activity 
urged upon the magistracy, the appointment of a special judge, the creation of 
an exclusive police, and the deference sometimes unduly yielded, and never ac- 
knowledged by the Spanish agents and parties interested in those lamentable 
occurrences. It- was a question of party, and should be passed upon by party 
reasoniug. It was an arm which mischance placed in the hands of the reac- 
tionary party, and which that party yielded without restraint against the gov- 
ernment to overthrow it if amid its blood-stained fragments the nationality of the 
republic should be destroyed. 

General Comonfort fell and the government which succeded him in the capi- 
tal, hailed the journals of Madrid not only as impartial, but as friendly to Spain, 
upheld in the most perfect manner, the acts of the preceding administration. 
Composed of persons adverse to constitutional order, and triumphant after a 
contest ©f two years, it was natural that, if not out of hate or vengeance, it should 
at least, as an element of policy, bring about an elucidation of all facts. The 
suit in the San Vicente case was conchided without any indications appearingof 
the crimes imputed to the government, and in the month of September, five of 
the leading assassins sufiered death. Here is fresh proof of the injustice mth 
which the republic has been judged, because a sentence carried into eKecutiou 
is a truth. 

But by good fortune we can place ourselves on indestructible foundations, be- 
cause, if every sentence carries in its favor the iiresumption of being just, that 
of San Vicente reckons, besides, on two very important circumstances. The 
first, that the judges who, on those occasions, passed sentence were appointed 
by General Zuloaga and belonged to the political party which ruled the capital. 
Therefore, any attenuation of the crime cannot (;ven be suspected, and much less 
any dissimulation in respect of those who could be regarded as accomplices. 
The second is that of the five ci-iminals executed, four were convicted and also 
confessed, and one only convicted. Jf all had been in this case it might perhaps 
have happened that, l)y exaggerating injustice into calumny, the sentence would 
have been attributed to error or to culpable carelessness, because it could be 
said that the judge, according to his personal inclination, had unduly weighed 



112 • THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

the facts. But what proofs can be admitted against confessions ? The man 
who now confesses himself guilty of crime, undoubtedly has committed it be- 
cause there are no longer tortures to extort from the frail body of man, revela- 
tions which his conscience does not dictate. Now then, if the principal criminals 
were punished, if, from the principal trial, there resulted none of those conditions 
under which, by the law of nations, governments become responsible, upon what 
can a claim for indemnity be founded ? It is true that some Spaniards have 
been injured, but is that enough to make the nation responsible, especially when 
justice has been executed on the guilty 1 To what would the independence of 
the republic be reduced if such a precedent could be established 1 

Offences thus submitted to an unsuitable examination, the public treasury would 
be at the mercy of ill-intentioned foreigners who, in a traffic as immoral as safe, 
could speculate not only in merchandize but even in blood, and divide perhaps, 
portions of the one and the other with thieves and assassins. Will the govern- 
ments of Europe admit a principle so fatal among those which form the law of 
nations ? Wherefore, then, apply it to Mexico ? 

It is therefore demonstrated that the convention, said to have been concluded 
by General Zoloaga with the government of her Catholic Majesty, is intrin- 
sically unjust and eminently prejudicial to the rights and interests of the Mex- 
ican republic. But even supposing that it may have been made in express 
terms, even supposing it settled in accordance with equity, it cannot, for that 
reason, be maintained. It would, perhaps, be just, it would, perhaps, be suitable 
enough, if you choose, but it would always be void, because of its being con- 
cluded by one party utterly incompetent to act. 

Not having attained a settlement of the differences with the Marquis Pinal, I 
withdrew from Madrid, on the 1st day of August, 1857, after having presented 
to the Spanish government a memorandum, and when Spain had already 
accepted the mediation which France and England had offered. There was 
then already pending in Mexico this new negotiation, when, on the 21st Jan- 
uary, 1858, the reactionary government triumphed in the capital, and commenced 
that horrible civil war which, for seventeen months, has been destroying the 
republic. But that administration was, from the beginning, very far from being 
a national government, and so it acknowledged itself, when, on first addressing 
itself to the Mexican people, it said expressly that perhaps " it would be no 
more than the government of some of the departments, and its representation 
would be such as the republic might choose to give it." And in fact it has been 
no more than a government of some cities, and the republic has not yet bestowed 
upon it a national representation. 

On the same day, March 16, last year, I received two orders diametrically 
opposed. By one the reactionary government provided that the legation which. 
was in my charge should cease. By the other I was ordered to continue it by 
the constitutional government, which had lawfully organized at Quanajuato, oa 
the 19th January, that is, before its occupation of the capital, a circumstance 
which should not be forgotten. Not through any party affiHation, still less 
through personal interest, but upon an intimate conviction that the government 
at Mexico was not the government of the republic, I found myself constrained 
not to comply with its orders, and moreover to protest against any convention 
it might conclude with the Spanish government. I knew well this course would 
be the siibject of criticism and of ridicule, but as no act of my life has been 
taken with better or safer conscience, I determined to face not merely persecu- 
tions but somewhat worse — ridicule. I discharged my duty ; time has placed 
its ineffaceable stamp upon my protest, and, after seventeen months, what I 
wrote therein is true, because if General Zuloaga, in the first ten, could only 
govern a few States, General Miramon, his substitute, in the seven last, did not 
obtain recognition except in some cities, finding himself compelled to act on 
the defensive, even in the streets of the capital. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO- 113 

The constitutional government has to-day: the same well-established rights as 
then, bccanse now, as then, it is law, it is not revolntion. But the most impor- 
tant fiict is that now it rules over wider territory, because now a majority of 
the people obey it ; because now it holds all the ports ; because now it is recog- 
nized by one of the principal nations. As I then said, a recognition by foreign 
ministers does not legalize governments whicli can only owe their existence to 
the Avill of the people, but it is nevertheless a highly significant fact that the 
United States of America, which recognized in General Zuloaga a government 
dc facto, have since recognized the constitutional government ; because this act 
at least proves that this is now more a government de facto than then, and as 
its right has been ever tlie same it necessarily follows that it is the true gov- 
ernment of the republic. 

Well, then, can acts done by illegitimate authority be obligatory on the 
nation % The contracts which weigh upon the public income, the mortgages 
and sales of ecclesiastical property, made in fraud of the law concerning mort- 
main, can such subsist when the government Avhich passed these measures is 
not obeyed by full three-fourths of the Mexican people 1 Certainly not; and if 
it is thus in treating of affairs with individuals, what will be the issue when 
txeating of international matters. The first are serious and important, but the 
second much more serious and important, because such are not questions of 
money but of honor; because they not only prejudice the interests but also the 
rights of the republic; because the acceptance of a wrongful act is not only 
intimated thereby, but also the sanction of a wrong principle ; and because, in 
fine, they give rise not only to present evils, but bring on greater in the future. 
And as the constitutional government has decided to maintain the interests, the 
rights, and the dignity of the nation, and desires, in good faith, to arrange the 
differences with Spain in a manner as substantial as honorable, it deems it in 
every \aew necessary to make known its determination in so important a matter. 
Therefore, in the name of the Mexican republic, I protest, in the most solemn 
manner, against any conventions which the government established in the capital 
has concluded or may conclude with his Catholic Majesty, the legitimate gov- 
ernment, in consequence, continuing at full liberty to act as it may judge con- 
venient, and to reclaim all injuries that may attach to the country. I repeat, 
also, that this government, complying with what it owes to others, will punish 
the guilty, will grant indemnities according to the law of nations, and will fulfil 
the treaty of 1853, always claiming the revision of the credits which were 
unduly included in the Spanish fund. 

No one can foresee the end of the civil war. Victory will give more or less 
importance to the fact of this protest ; but it will, at all events, be an aiithentic 
t^estimonial of the justice and good faith of the constitutional government. 

JOSE MARIA LAFRAGUA. 

Paris, June 8, 1859. 

Paris, June 9, 1859. 
A copy. 

A. ESCALANTE. 

Vera Cruz, Dccemlcr 29, 1859. 

A copy certified. In the absenct.' of the chief ad interim, 

JOSE D. CABRERA Y E, 

Fourth Official 

Washington, September 30, 1861. 
A true copy. 

ROMERO. 
H. Ex Doc. 100 8 



114 THE PEESEXT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 7. 

[Translation.] 

The president of the Mexican republic and her Majesty the Queen of Spain, 
equally moved by the desire to put an end to the diflPerences which unhappily have 
arisen between the tAvo countries, and to draw more closely the natural friend- 
shijD which should exist between them, have agreed upon proceeding to con- 
clude a treaty which may re-establish the former relations between the two 
states, and have for this purpose appointed as their plenipotentiaries, the presi- 
dent of the Mexican republic, Don Juan Almonte, general of division in the 
Mexican army, and envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the 
Mexican republic near his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French ; and ■ 
her Majesty the Queen of the Spains, Don Alexandro Mon, knight of the grand 
cross of the royal and distinguished order of Charles III, of the imperial legion 
of honor of France, of that of Christ, of Portugal, and of the pontificate of 
Pius IX, deputy to the cortes, ex-minister of hacienda, member of the royal 
academy of Ban Fernando, and ambassador extraordinary and minister pleni- 
potentiary of her Catholic Majesty near his Majesty the Emperor of the French, 
who, after having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form, 
have agreed upon the following articles : 

Article 1. The principal criminals in the assassinations committed at the 
haciendas of San Vicente and Chinconcuaque having already been condemned 
by the courts and executed, undergoing personally the capital punishment im- 
posed upon them, the Mexican government will continue action in the prosecu- 
tion and punishment ©f the rest of the accomplices, who have thus f;ir succeeded 
in eluding the action of justice, and in hastening all the proceedings, so that 
those may receive the punishment due for the crimes committed at the mine of 
St. Dimas, department of Durango, the 15th September, 1855, as soon as said 
department may return to its obedience to the Mexican government, or when 
the guilty may be arrested or the advisers of these crimes. 

Article 2. The government of Mexico, although convinced that there was 
no responsibility on the part of the authorities, functionaries, and others em- 
ployed for the crimes committed at the haciendas of San Vicente and Chincon- 
cuaque, influenced nevertheless by the desire which animates it to cut through 
at once the differences which have arisen between the republic and Spain, and 
for the common and well-understood interests of both countries, so that they may 
pursue their way together, always united and bound by ties of enduring friend- 
ship, consents to indemnify the Spanish subjects Avho may be concerned for the 
loss and injury Avhich may have been occasioned to them in consequence of the 
crimes committed at San Vicente and Chinconcuaque. 

Article 3. Moved by the same desires mentioned in the preceding article, 
the Mexican government consents also to indemnify the subjects of her Catholic 
Majesty for the loss and damages they may have suffered in consequence of the 
crimes committed on 15th September, 1856, at the mines of St. Dimas, depart- 
ment of Durango. 

Article 4. Animated by the same sentiments expressed in the two preceding- 
articles, and full of the same desires, the Spanish government consents that the 
indemnities referred to shall not serve as the ground or antecedent of any cases 
of like nature. 

Article 5. The Mexican government and that of Spain agree that the sum 
or value of the indemnities treated of in the foregoing articles be detennined 
by agreement between France and England, who have shown a willingness to 
accept this trust, which will be discharged by them or their representatives. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 115 

taking account of tlie data the parties interested may bring forward, and hearing 
the respective governments. 

Article 6. The treaty of 12th November, 1S53, shall be re-established in 
all its force and vigor as if it had never been interrupted, unless by another act 
of equal force it be not by common accord abrogated or altered. 

Article 7. The loss and damage, claims for which were pending on the inter- 
ruption of relations, and any that during such interruption may have given 
origin to fresh claims, shall be the subject of ulterior arrangements between the 
governments of Mexico and Spain. 

Article 8. This treaty shall be ratified by his excellency the president of 
the Mexican republic and by her Majesty the Queen of Spain, and the ratifica- 
tions shall be exchanged at Paris within four months, reckoned from this date, 
or sooner, if possible. 

In faith whereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries have signed and sealed 
this -nath their respective seals. Done in triplicate at Paris, 26th day of Sep- 
tember, of the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine. 

JUAN N. ALMONTE. 
ALEJANDRO MON. 

Washington, Septemher 30, 1861. 
A copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 8. 

[Translation ] 

DEPAETMENT OF STATE FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

No. 61.J National Palace, Vei-a Cruz, December 5, 1859. 

I have the honor to send herewith a coj)y of the communication and protest 
of Mr. Lafragua, relative to the convention said to have been concluded between 
Mr. Almonte and the Spanish government about the questions which the last 
has pending with Mexico, that, being informed about them, and convinced of 
the sound reasons which dictated them, you may make them in season available 
with the government of the United States, as those documents rest on the same 
foundation as those on which the constitutional government reposes, which permit 
not now, or any time, any derogation from the interest and dignity of the nation. 

On this occasion I reiterate to you the assurances of my esteem. 

OCAMPO. 

The Mexican Minister at Washington. 

Washington, Septe7nber 30, 1861. 
A copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 9. 

[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

Legation of Mexico near H. 0. M., 

Paris, October 4, 1859. 

The Press, the Journal of Debates, t\\\(\ tliC National Opinion, and other 
periodicals at this capital, copying a paragraph from the " Correspondencia 



116 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Autografa" of Madrid, liave announced that your excellency and Mr. Men have 
signed a convention which ends the differences between Spain and Mexico. In 
compliance with the orders of the supreme constitiTtional government, I protest 
in the name of the republic against that settlement, be it "what it may, wholly 
saAang and reserving the rights of the nation, and reproducing all the reasons 
alleged in my protests of the 16th of March, 1858, and the 8th of June of the 
present year, of which I again send your excellency a copy. 

I reiterate to your excellency my very distinguished consideration. 

J. M. LAFEAGUA. 

His Excellency Lieutenant General of Division Don J. N. Almonte. 

Paris, October 5, 1859. 
A copy. 

A. ESCALANTE. 

Vera Cruz, Decemher 1, 1859. 
A copy certified. 

JUAN DE DIGS ARIAS. 

Washington, September 30, 1861. 
A copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 10. ■ 
[Translation.] 
DEPAKTMENT OF STATE FOE FOREIGN RELATIONS. 

Legation of Mexico near H. C. M., 

Paris, October 5, 1859. 

I have the honor to send you a copy of the communication which I addressed 
yesterday to General Don Juan N. Almonte on account of the notice, already 
so formally made public, of a settlement made with the Spanish government. 
Perhaps (and I wish it for the honor of the country) there may be some inex- 
actness as to the bases settled on for the convention, and that you will see in 
the number of the National Opinion which I enclose ; but if it should not be 
so — if the settlement be such as is annorrnced — it must be admitted that the 
reactionary government has put the seal of contempt to an affair so essentially 
prejudicial to the rights and interests of the nation. 

What becomes of independence if every offence of an individual is to be in- 
demnified ? What becomes of the dignity of the nation if she not only pays 
debts she does not owe, but indemnifies for such as, by the greatest abuses, 
have been introduced into the convention. 

I give many thanks to Providence for having relieved me from taking part 
in such an unjust agreement, but, as a Mexican, I shall always deplore that 
there should have been a government, although it might not be legitimate, which 
should thus have opened up a new source of calamities and entanglements for 
the republic. * * * * * * -* 

In my opinion, the two solemn protests which I have printed and circulated 
suffice to place the constitutional government at liberty when the time comes 
for action. It might be opportune that the department should address a note 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 117' 

to the American government, or, by means of a foi-mal decree, should disavow 
the convention, so that not the least doubt should remain as to its determination. 
I reiterate to you the assurances of my most distinguished consideration. 

J. M. LAFRAGUA. 
His Excellency The Ml\ister of Foreign Relations 
Of the Constitutional Government. 

Vera Cruz, Becemher 1, 1869. 
A certified copy. 

JUAN DE D. ARIAS, 

Chief ad interim. 

Washington, Septemher 30, 1861. 
A copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 11. 

[Translation.] 
DEPARTMENT OP FOREIGN EELATIONS. 

Legation of Mexico near H. C. M., 

Paris, October 22, 1859. 

I have the honor to send to you copy of the communication which on the 4th 
I addressed to General Almonte, and of that Avhich on the 5th I addressed to 
you by way of the United States. 

Until to-day Mr. Almonte has made no ansAver, any more than to the protests 
of the 16th March and 6th June of last year, and that of the 8th June of the 
present. Of the first and last I send you six copies, but not of the second, be- 
cause that was simply a note, in which I repeated that of March. With all 
the pains I have taken, I have not been able to get at the text of the agree- 
ment ; but, according to all the accounts I have, it has without doubt been con- 
cluded by yielding to all the pretensions of Spain. "El Pais," in an article 
decidedly encomiastic of the reactionary government, enters into some details 
which I think very important, and therefore refer you to them, although they 
are not said to be from an oflicial source. 

Let it be said, then, that Mexico obliges herself to punish offenders yet un- 
known, and concedes indemnification to Spain without recognition of the princi- 
ple of indemnity, and that this fact may never be cited as a precedent. From 
this the author of the article infers that the convention is a very good one, be- 
cause Spain receives satisfaction and Mexico does nothing contrary to its 
dignity. 

If such are the tei-ms of the convention, it may be thought by those who 
look superficially at the affJxir that in effect the rights, if not the interests also, 
of the republic have been maintained ; and, as disinterestedness is the basis of 
Mexican character, it will also be said that the government, while preserving 
the national dignity, has acted generously toAvards the ancient mother country. 

But upon this I will allow myself to offer a few remarks. In the first place, 
nations are not like individuals. These may consent to pay Avhat they do not 
owe witliout detriment or prejudice from that generosity, because it is not the 
case that, if a man pay what he does not owe, the principle is settled so that it 
may afterwards seiwe as an argument against other men or himself even. But 



118 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

nations cannot act in tins manner, because what tliey have once granted to an 
other is claimed in turn by all the rest, partly because, under the law of nations, 
acts always operate against those who do them, and because they give avail to 
the axiom, so injurious to ns, of granting to all that which is granted to the 
most favored nation. 

Consequently, it means nothing that Mexico may indemnify without recog- 
nition of the principle of indemnity in absolnte tenns, becai;se the fact will 
always present itself as a proof; resulting from this, that the precedent rests 
established that I resisted with so much zeal, although the text of the convention 
may say that it is not established. 

But even allowing this false supposition were a truth, the most that could be 
maintained would be that Spain conld not in futme base other claims uj)on the 
last convention But shall we be able to answer other nations with this 1 The 
day they may have anything to claim from us we shall in vain say to them that 
in paying Spain we did not recognize the principle, because they will insist on 
the allegation of the fact, and we will have to pay all, without equity, without 
obligation, and merely from generosity. How, in fact, deny to France, to 
England, to the United States, what we have conceded to Spain 1 . Is one 
nation better worth than another 1 Are not all equal in reason and in law 1 Is 
it not truly written in many treaties that we owe to foreigners protection and 
security 1 How then will a phrase written in a convention agreed upon 
between the representatives only of Mexico and Spain save us against claim, 
when, in fact, we have conceded indemnity without having been in the situa- 
tions which the law of nations indicates ? 

I think, therefore, this diplomatic reserve — which the rather merits the name 
of a stupid subterfuge to pass off feebleness for generosity of spirit — is a germ 
sadly prolific of disgusts, prejudices, and losses for the republic which must 
indubitably be heaped up in every quarter, injurious to its international right, 
and which records in its annals a fact more deplorable than others of those 
which form the large catalogue of our errors. 

It is said the convention is honorable ; in my opinion it is little worthy of 
either country. It is so for Spain, because she receives by favor what she 
claimed by right, because she accepts as favor what she maintained as right. 
It is so for Mexico, because she pays what she does not owe, because she apolo- 
gizes without having offended, supposing that, the principle of indemnity not 
being recognized, Spain has confessed that the crime of San Vicente was a 
common offence, and that Mexico unconsciously has made the cause of the 
assassins her own. Where and how is the national dignity saved ? It would 
have been less evil to confess we were in the situation indicated by the law of 
nations, because there would have been frankness in that confession, and 
because it is nothing new in the world nor degrading to a nation that it should 
have some functionaries who do not discharge their duties. 

But to say that we are not in those situations, and nevertheless to grant 
indemnity, is an act that cannot be explained except by calling i;pon that parti- 
san spirit for whose sake principles are sacrificed amid the whirlwinds of passion. 
And if to this situation of the convention, so little satisfactory, is added that 
relating to the convention pure and simple, acknowledged as it seems to be, 
what remains of the justice, of the honor, of the name of Mexico 1 To what 
purpose have we thrown away eleven years upon the question of credits unduly 
assumed and about three upon offences improperly adjudicated upon, if those 
in fact are not revised and these in fact are certified 1 We pay money we do 
not owe, and for blood we have not shed, wasting in both cases the interests 
and in both trampling under foot the laws of the republic. 

I have thought it my duty to present these observations to the supreme 
government because, although I have no certainty that the settlement has been 
made in the terms I have referred to, it is very probable it may embrace the 



THE PEESEXT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 119 

ideas expressed by " El Pais," in -which case it is veiy proper things should be 
placed in their tnie light, so that transcendental errors may be avoided in the 
appreciation of the facts. 

I reiterate to you my very distinguished consideration. 

J. M. LAFEAGUA. 
The Minister of Foreigm Relations 
Of the Constitutional Government. 

Vera Cruz, Becemher 1, 1859. 
I certify this to be a copy. 

JUAN DE D. ARIAS, 

Chief ad interim. 

Washington, Septemher 30, 1861. 
A copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 12. 
[Translation.] 
The constitutional government to the nation: 

In the difficult position in which Mexico is placed, when she has most need 
of patriotism and forecast in the direction of her policy, an act offensive to her 
dignity and injurious to her interests has occun-ed, to place in strong light how 
far the inclinations of the enemies of liberty may do her wrong. 

The party which, resting its titles to power on the defection of a part of the 
army, has established itself in the city of Mexico, calling itself the government 
of the republic, although that has rejected such representations through more 
than two years of strife, has concluded, at Paris, with the representative of her 
Catholic Majesty, in September of last year, a treaty unjust in essentials, foreign 
to the usages of nations in the principles which it sets forth, illegal because of 
the manner of its adjustment, and contrary to the rights of our country. 

These qualifications are not the offspring of the spirit of party, nor of the 
passions which this engenders or frequently excites ; nor are they either, the 
result of unworthy prejudices against the Spanish nation. Into the noble mis- 
sion of the lawful government, into the noble and patriotic influences which 
guide it, enter no other sentiments or desires than the sentiment of justice and 
the desire for the public welfare. The analysis of the document indicated, the 
reflection suggested by reading it, are enough to attest the justice and good 
faith of the same government in this respect, as Avell as that it was under obli- 
gation to prevent its silence upon this serious affair from being construed into 
a national acquiescence. 

Eight articles are contained in the convention concluded between the repre- 
sentative of Don Miguel Miramon and that of the Queen of Spain. By the 
first of said articles the IMexican government assumes an obligation to continue 
actively to prosecute judicially and to punish the accomplices in the offences 
committed on the estates of San Vincente and Chiconcuaqiie, as well as to be 
responsible for the occurrences, no less deplorable, which happened, in 1S56, at 
St. Dimas, in the State of Dnrango. 

According to articles 2 and 3, although the Mexican government is convinced 
that tliere was no responsibility on the part of the authorities, functionaries, or 
persons in employ, for the offiniccs referred to, it consents to indemnify Spanish 
subjects for the loss and damages which may have been occasioned to them by 
6uch offences. The Spanish government consents (article 4) that such indem- 



120 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

nities shall not serve as the base or precedent for other cases of like nature. 
Trance and England shall determine (article 5) the amount of the indemnities 
conceded. 

By article C the treaty of the 12th November, 1853, is re-established in full 
force and vigor, without any mention, even incidental, of a revision of credits 
which are not the property of Spaniards. 

The loss and damage (article 7) for pending claims shall be arranged by 
ulterior conventions, and the ratifications of this treaty shall be exchanged at 
Paris (article 8) Avithin four months, reckoned from the day on which it was 
sealed. 

It is clearly obvious that this convention is humiliating to our country. How, 
in what title, by what right, consent to indemnities thus stipulated, when the 
government of Don Miguel Miramon declares that it is convinced of the com- 
plete blamelessness of the agents of the public authority 1 Upon what could 
this consent be founded 1 If pecuniary responsibility for losses proceeding from 
offences of ordinary character were a principle of the law of nations, the 
Spanish nation would not have consented to the declaration that the concessions 
made on this point by the Mexican government should not serve for precedent 
in future cases. Thus, then, its acquiescence in that declaration goes to show 
that it is convinced of the injustice of its demand ; nor can it be otherwise, be- 
cause the representative of her Catholic Majesty could not be ignorant that the 
obligation of nations, in respect to crimes of ordinary character directly inju- 
rious to foreigners, is to prosecute and punish their authors, under the provisions 
of their respective laws, and not to grant pecuniary indemnities for damages 
caused by those crimes ; and it is certainly extraordinary that the person who 
figured in the convention alluded to as the representative of the suj)posed gov- 
ernment of Mexico should have admitted, on the part of his country, against 
all reason and all right, obligations which even the party claimant did not hesi- 
tate to declare absolutely unfounded—obligations which, if they could have had 
existence, would end in the reduction of the national independence to a nullity. 
To convince oneself that this last asseveration is altogether accurate, it will be 
sufficient to reflect that no government whatever, and whatsoever may be its 
means of action, can prevent the perpetration of ordinary crimes ; that if it 
should have to provide indemnities to the subjects of friendly nations for the 
injuries which such should cause to them, it would finish by draining its trea- 
sury and all its elements of subsistence. 

Why, then, has this party, which allov/s itself to hurl against its adversaries 
even the foul stain of faithlessness to the country, humbled itself to the Ioav 
degree of consenting to an exigency in every point of view without foundation ? 
Nations can only accede to prop)er applications ; otherwise, their honor being 
once in question, they would be exposed to the contumely and the exactions of 
the rest. 

As little decorous is it to the nation to permit that, under the shadow of the 
good faith of treaties, its debt should be adulterated, or that there should be 
a traffic to its prejudice with credits which cannot lawfully be covered by them. 
Why should not the cabinet of Madrid consent to the revision of those credits 
Avhen its good name requires it, and when good faith, and even the interests of 
the lawful Spanish credits, are calling for it 1 

It is the duty, therefore, of the legitimate government to oppose the sanction, 
through the interested condescension of a party void of conscience, of abuses 
which in any case can be guarded against by the law of nations. The respon- 
sibility of the governments can only be founded on the absolute denegation of 
justice. If Mexico be not in such position, there is no law to subject her to a 
condition contemptible in the eyes of the civilized Avorld. Independence, honor, 
good name, the great interests of a people, must not be an illusion to Mexicans^ 
but a substantial reality to ourselves as well as to foreigners. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 121 

Happily, tlie treaty in questionwill not prejudice tlie interests of the republic,- 
nor will it cede anytliiug in prejudice of its good name because it Avas concluded 
and ratified by persons not authorized to treat in the- name of Mexico. A 
political party whose power proceeds from a rebellion which the great majority 
of the country condemns — a faction which, by the efforts of the forces it has 
raised is preventing, in the central cities, the free utterance of public opinion — 
a party which has inaugurated its power by showing what would be the gov- 
ernment of some departments, of some cities, according to the support the nation 
would give to it — a party, in fine, which, notwithstanding the horrible war which 
it has continued and excited during two years, availing itself of all sorts of 
measures, has not been able to attain the representative character it sought, is 
not, nor can be, the government of the Mexican republic. 

The constitutional government will not here dwell upon the titles upon which 
it rests its authority ; they are in the laws and in the public will. In a very 
short time there will be an end to the disturbances which rend the bosom of the 
country and endanger its glorious independence, and legitimate power will exert 
itself irresistibly to maintain the last, and give assurance to all the guarantees of 
our countrymen and foreigners. 

Mexico has the best inclination to do Spain full justice, to grant to her what- 
ever may be due, faithfully to carry out her treaties ; but she requires this to be 
done in confoi-mity Avith the law of nations ; and that the consideration of her 
feebleness or of her strength, of her good or bad political organism, have no 
influence upon the settlement of these differences. She desires to be regarded 
as a free and sovereign people, and that the sense of justice be that which may 
preside over all her stipulations ; in a word, she desires that good faith and 
reason may govern exclusively in her diplomatic arrangements, and that none 
may claim the right to undervalue a nation which has known how to conquer 
independence, and which to-day gives proof, in the midst of misfortunes, that 
she feels the consciousness of her dignity. 

The constitutional government cannot assent to the affront with which a 
political faction would stain the country. It fulfils its duty then, that this may 
come to the knowledge of the civilized world, by protesting, as it does protest, 
in the most solemn manner against the treaty referred to, concluded at Paris in 
September of last year, by demonstrating that its clauses cannot compromit the 
interests of Mexico for want of authority in the persons who, on its part, inter- 
vened, and by declaring that she reserves the right to settle the differences 
pending with Spain in conformity with the principles of universal justice, and 
in a manner worthy of the dignity of both nations. 

Vera Cruz, January 30, ISGO. 

BENITO JUAREZ, 

President ad interim. 
IGNACIO DE LA LEAVE, 

, Mi?iister of State. 

JOSE GIL PARTE AROYO, 

/ Minister nf War. 

JOSE DE EMPARAN, 
» Minister of the Interior. 

SANTOS DEGOLLADO, 

Minister of Foreign Relations. 
MANUEL RUIZ, Minister of Justice: 
3IIGUEL LERDA DE TEJADO, 

Minister of Finance. 

Washi.vgton, September 30, ISGl. 
A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



122 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

Mr. R,omcro to Mr. Seward. 

[Translation.] 

Mexican Legation in the United States of America, 

Washington, October '60, 1861. 

Mr. Secretary : Believing that Mr. Corwin may have informed the depart- 
ment over which you preside of the complaint which was made by the diplomatic 
body residing in Mexico to the government of that repiiblic in August last, in 
consequence of an asseveration made to it by the minister of France, that on the 
night of the 14th day of the same month verbal insults were addressed to him 
by a popular assemblage, and that his assassination had been attempted, I deem 
it proper to transmit to you a pamphlet which I have just received, and which 
contains the judicial investigation made by the authorities of Mexico in virtue 
of that accusation, this investigation throwing sufficient light on the events to 
show what really occurred. 

There were two counts in the accusation of the French minister : first, the 
insults which had been addressed to him by speech, and second, the attempt at 
assassination. With respect to the former, it was proved in the examination 
referred to that on the night mentioned the triumph obtained by the government 
forces over the rebels in Jalatlaco was celebrated in the city of Mexico. The 
people of Mexico, as is their custom on such occasions, having assembled in 
various groups, with a band of music at the head of each, passed through the 
city in different directions, sending up rockets and hurrahing for the government, 
the victors, and the constitution. One of these groups went by the legation of 
France. Mr. de Saliguy asserts that it stopped at the door and shouted, " death 
to Frenchmen,^'' " death to the minister of France;^' but, strange to say, nobody 
else heard such cries. Among the persons examined by the appropriate judicial 
authorities there are Mexicans of character and foreigners, and among the latter 
some Frenchmen. Some of them live on the same street on which the house of 
the legation stands and others in a hotel close by, and all uniformly declare 
that the group neither stopped before the French legation nor used any insulting 
expression to France, to her subjects, or to her minister. 

In regard to the latter charge, it was found that Mr. de Saligny having stopped 
in one of the galleries of his house, without hearing any detonation, had a 
perception of a slight crack near him and then of a light blow on his right arm. 
Examining afterwards the place where this occiirred, he found that a ball had 
made an impression on the column of the gallery near which he had stopped. 
From the examination of the place, Avhich was made by the judge, accompanied 
by two skilful engineers, it Avas found that the ball could not have originally 
made an imj)ression in the place where it struck imless it had been fired from 
the roof of the same house, which was not probable, as the servants of the 
bouse, in whom Mr. de Saligny stated he had great confidence, declared that no 
person had been on the roof on that night. 

The said engineers who accompanied the judge in the examination just 
mentioned afterwards made their report in writing, wherein they express the 
opinion that, taking all the circumstances of the case into consideration, the 
projectile was not designedly fired at the column, but that it was aimed at some 
point near the north of the house, struck the Avail of the National Theatre, 
which is close by it and facing in that direction, and, this producing a moA^ement 
of irregular rebound, it reached the point Avhere the mark M'as found. The 
foundations of this opinion are very much strengthened if it is borne in mind 
that Mr. de Saligny, as he himself deposes, did not hear the detonation of the 
piece of arms from which the projectile was fired; and that at the time this event 



THE PEESEXT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 123 

took place rockets were beiug .sent up in various quarters, and probably firearms 
were also cliscliargecT in the air on account of tlie public rejoicing. 

The evidence gathered was such that the judge who instituted the examina- 
tion declared there vv'-as no sufficient reason for continuing it. 

The interest which I naturally take in rectifying erroneous opinions which 
may be formed of Mexico in consequence of inaccurate reports induces me to 
address you in regard to this matter, and to recommend you to peruse the annexed 
investigation. 

It is very agreeable to me to have this opportunity of repeating to you, sir, the 
assurances of mv very distinguished consideration. 

M. ROMERO. 

Hon. William H. Seward, Sfc, Sfc, Sfc. 



[Translation.] 

MEXICAN QUESTION. 



INQUEST AND JUDICIAL SENTENCE ON THE COMPLAINT OF MR. DE SALIGNY, 
MINISTER OF FRANCE IN MEXICO — 1861. 

Preface. 

Several journals have published as positive news that Mr. de Saligny, min- 
ister of France at Mexico, has been the object of an attempt at assassination, 
and that on an evening when the inhabitants of that city had given themselves 
up to public rejoicings cries of death were uttered against the person of this 
minister and against foreigners in general. It would be impossible to recall here 
all the comments which have been made with profusion on this piece of news, 
that has dropped into the field of European publicity in these days when the 
question of Mexico is discussed with great warmth. From this attempt, and 
from these acts, accepted as ascertained facts, there has resulted to that unhappy 
country a seal of reprobation and of anathema which seems to give some weight to 
the unjust attacks wliich the clerical press has for a long while not ceased to 
hurl against it in France, in Spain, and in Italy. 

Nothing, however, is better ascertained than the sad error which has been the 
first cause of so many virulent recriminations on this subject; for not only is the 
incorrectness of the facts on which it has been attempted to found a complaint 
established, but the truth of entirely contrary facts has been demonstrated. 

All this is rendered as clear as day by the documents of proof in the judicial 
inquest made at Mexico in consequence of the complaint of Mr. de Saligny. This 
inquest we publish in extenso, as it was communicated to the Siglo XIX of that 
city, which published it on the 5th of September last. 

AVe shall make neither the synthesis nor the analysis of the probabilities which 
flow quite naturally from this series of documents. They speak for themselves, 
and therefore Ave shall refrain from making the slightest observation on them. 
We only ask that they may be read, and we await with entire confidence the fiat 
of puljlic opinion 



124 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Inquest and judicial sentence on the complaint of Mr. de Saligny. 

Department op Foreign Relations, 

Mexico, Septemher 3, 1861. 

To the Editor of the Siglo XIX: 

Mv Dear Sir : By order of tlie minister of relations, I send jow a copy of 
some of tlie proofs Avhicli form the judicial inquest in regard to the hostile de- 
monstration and attempt at assassination, of which accusation has been made as 
having taken place on the night of the 14th of the month of August, at the 
French legation. 

These documents prove that on the occasion of the rejoicings to which the 
triumph over the disturbers of the public peace gave rise on that night the 
sentiments of sympathy and of fraternity Avhich have always imited the inhabi- 
tants of that city to the French who reside there were loudly expressed, instead 
of the latter being molested. 

I trust that, for the satisfaction of both, you will be pleased to give publicity 
in yoxir journal to the documents which are hereto annexed. 

I thank you, in advance, for this service, and am your very humble and very 
obedient servant, 

JUAN DE D. ARIAS. 



Deposition of Jose A. Bucheli, esq. 

On the same day (20th August) appeared Jose A. Bucheli, esq., counsellor 
at law, who, having promised to tell the truth, deposed that he was a native of 
Mexico, of mature age, married, and Avas a lawyer, residing at No. S Vergara 
street. 

Being interrogated as to the matters of this inquest, he answered that, ac- 
cording to his recollection, one day last week he had noticed a crowd proceeding, 
between ten and eleven o'clock at night, to the sounds of martial music, from 
Primera del Factor street to Vergara street, carrying torches and hurrahing in 
honor of the government, and particularly in honor of General Gonzalez Ortega, 
on account of the victory gained by him over the forces of Marquez and his 
accomplices ; having also noticed that in all directions this crowd was sending 
up a great many rockets, and fearing to be hit by an unlucky mischance, he 
withdrew from the balcony where he had witnessed this spectacle, and shut the 
windows, being already convinced that the only object of this promenade was 
to celebrate the triumjjh of the constitutional government. JHe noticed that the 
voices of the persons who composed these groups were gradually becoming 
fainter, and he concluded therefrom that they had not stopped in Vergara street. 
Having read this deposition, he has ratified it, as it agrees with the truth, and he 
has signed it along with the judge. 

J. A. BUCHELI. 

Proceedings of inquest draion 'tip by M. Arrieta, esq., notary. 

On the same day the judge, assisted by me, a notary, and two officers of 
engineers detailed by the military commander of the district at the request of 
the coiu-t, repaired to the house No. 10 Vergara street, where the minister of 
France, who was present, resides ; and the minister having been informed by his 
secretary of the purpose for which we came, he took his hat and showed the 
place where he was and to which the ball had gone. This place is at one of 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 125 

the angles of the galleiy of the house runuing from south to north, and facino- 
to the east, on turning to the vestibule ; and he placed himself in the same 
position in which he was when the ball fell. He was looking to the north and 
had his shoulder towards the south, a little inchned on the left to the north. 
Then he indicated the spot where the ball had struck ; it was on the second 
column of the space of the part mentioned of the gallery where he was stand- 
ing, at the distance of about half a yard. It was noticed at this place that the 
part fractured Avas about two inches in diameter, and on the side to the south, 
inclining a little towards the east, where said ball struck, which ball he pre- 
serves ; and he presented at the same time some fragments of paper which he 
declared to be wadding; telling us, through his secretary, that he was in the 
place where he is in the habit of walking up and down after dinner when the 
noise of rockets and the ringing of bells was heard in the city. It was then 
betAveen seA-en and eight o'clock. He heard a slight report on one side of him, 
and immediately felt a light bloA^ on his right arm — a bloAV to Avhich he paid no 
attention, supposing it to be from the stick of one of the rockets which had beeu 
heard going up. A short time afterAvards he received a visit from the Count de 
Pierres, Avho stays at the Hotel of Europe, and after relating to him Avhat had 
happened he Avent, on his invitation, to the gallery to look Avith him for the 
stick AA-hich they supposed to have fallen there They asked a servant for a 
light, in order to make this search ; and it was then that they noticed the mark 
left by the ball on the column, and at the base the fragments of the Avaddino- 
which he presented Avere found, as AA^ell as the ball which AA-as in the cornice o^' 
the gallery outside of the balustrade, and a fcAv steps distant from said column. 
The minister then took the ball, Avhich Avas the one Avhich he held in his hand 
and Avhich Avas flattened on one side. When he took it out he discovered that 
it Avas still hot, and that it smelt of poAAaier. 

Then the judge, AAdth the persons above named, went on the terrace (flat roof) 
of said house, in order to see and examine for themselves ; they made an in- 
Sjpection of it, from Avhich it Avas found that there Avas not on the AA'alls of 'the con- 
tiguous terraces any mark Avhich could create a suspicion that any person had 
been able to slip on by that means ; and although the said minister expressed a 
suspicion that some one might have got up by the public baths, Avhich are es- 
tiiblished in the house, and which are in its interior, but at the back part, it Avas 
acknoAvledged that this Avas not possible. JMoreover, the doorkeeper, a person 
whom the minister accredits as Avorthy of his entire confidence, Avas interroo-ated, 
and he deposed that at six o'clock in the evening the baths are closed, no per- 
son remainmg there afterAvards ; that this had taken place oil the day of the oc- 
cim-ence the same as on every other day, said doorkeeper having his place 
inside of the vestibule, Avhich at that hour is shut; and, finally, he asserted that 
no .person had entered. 

The above-named minister added, through his secretary, that, as re^'arded the 
persons in his service, he had absolutely no suspicion, for they all possessed his 
confidence ; and that neither had he suspicions against any other definite person, 
not kuoAving that he had or could have any enemies. He added that, on the 
same evening, at tea o'clock at latest, being in his bed engaged in readino-, he 
heard tumultuous voices in the street, and tlie sound of Avind instruments. ° He 
arose, and draAving near the glass Av■indoA^'s of tlie balcony, he saAV a group of 
people Avho had stopped before the house, and Avith them some soldiers in 
undress uniform, Avho uttered cries of "doAvn Avith the French! down Avith the 
minister of France!" He^did not see the musicians in uniform; they had cit- 
izens' di'css. 

►Shortly afterwards this group Avent round the corner of Vergara street, into 
San Francisco street, and, as he presumes, turned into the small street of Belc- 
mitas — a supposition Avhich he foraas from the manner in Avhich he heard the 
sounds of music. After these items of information Avero obtained the present 



126 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

proceedings terminated. The judge made a request to the two oificers of engi- 
neers that they woukl draw up a sketch of what they had seen, and transmit it 
to-morrow to the court Avith their report. In testimony whereof the judge has 
signed, Avhich I certify. 

M. ARRIETA. 

Report of Messrs. Ignacio Pavon and Augustin Arrellano, officers of engmcrs. — 

Corps of Engineers. 

In virtue of a verbal order which we received from the citizen military com- 
mander, we went together with you to the house No. 10 Vergara street, where 
Mr. Dubois de Saligny, minister of France in Mexico, resides, in order to make 
an examination there with a view of determining whence had been fired a shot 
of a musket or carbine, the mark of which was found imprinted on a column 
of the gallery of that house, and to give our opinion on the question. Was the 
shot aimed at this point, or had the projectile arrived there by chance ? To- 
gether with you, we discovered the mark made by the ball on one of the col- 
umns of the gallery Avhich faces the east ; and, after examining attentively the 
state of the place and conferring with you, we proceed to state what has hap- 
pened according to our view, and to the information on which we have relied in 
giving the opinion by which this report will be terminated. The mark left by 
the projectile is of a slight depth; the ball which was presented to us is flat- 
tened in an irregular manner, as if it had encountered a sinuous surface ; and, 
from the explanations of the minister, we have learned that, after striking the 
column, the ball had fallen a very short distance from it. 

As it was presumed that the shot might have been fired from one of the 
neighboring eminences, (house-tops,) we went upon them and made an attentive 
examination, but could not acquire the certainty that it had come from one of 
them ; on the contrary, we were convinced that it had not been fired from the 
terraces. The only one which overlooks in part the house of the minister is 
that of the National Theatre ; but on examining the part which would have 
been most convenient and most elevated, and taking for a basis of our calcula- 
tions the human stature, the visual ray does not reach the point Avhere the pro- 
jectile struck; so that if the shot had been fired from that terrace it would 
have hit higher and not Avhere it left its mark. 

Nor can it be said that it was fired from the terrace of the house itself; for 
the minister says that he did not hear the noise of the detonation, and at a dis- 
tance so short it would have been impossible not to hear it, whatever was the 
fire-arm discharged, in spite of the noise made at that hour by the ringing of 
bells and the sending up of rockets. What confirms this opinion is the slight mark 
which the ball left, and Avhich must haA^e been much larger by reason of short- 
ness of distance. 

The minister giving assurance that the shot had not been fired in the court, 
and as no certain conclusion can be arrived at from the shape which the caA'ity 
presented where the projectile struck, several persons having already changed 
the form by priA'ate examinations, it results, in virtue of the foregoing explana- 
tion, that Ave are of opinion, and so declare by Avay of report, that the projectile 
was not of deliberate purpose aimed at the column Avhere the mark was found, 
but that the ami having been discharged from a point close by and to the north 
of the house, the projectile struck the Avail of the theatre which faces this point; 
by this there was produced a movement of irregular i-ebound to the point where 
the mark was found. We base this opinion as Avell on the irregular flattening 
of the projectile, whose shape could not have been so much changed if it had 
only met, with the slight encounter Avhich the mark indicates, as on what Ave as- 
certained that there Avas no point Avhose position was such that a shot could be 



THE PRESENT CONTRITION OF MEXICO. 127 

fired from it to tlie place meutiouecl. Such is our opinion, and such we declare 
in fulfilment of the order which we have received. Liberty and reform. 

IGNAOIO PAVON. 

AGUSTIN AERELLANO. 
Mexico, August 22, 1S61. 

. Deposition of Mr. Frederick ZopJiy. 

Afterwards appeared, on a summons made to him, Mr. Frederick Zophy. The 
general questions required by law having been put to him, he deposed that such 
was his name ; that he was from Switzerland, was married, was a shoemaker 
by trade, aged fifty-five years, living at ISTo. 6 Plateros street. 

Being interrogated as to the reason why his name was cited by the Inspector 
Morali and the chief of police, he deposed that on the evening spoken of by 
those gentlemen, at about ten o'clock, he heard the noise of music; he went out < 
on his balcony to hear the piece which was being played, and then he noticed 
that the musicians were accompanied by quite a large crowd, who hurrahed in 
honor of liberty of France and of the United States. The crowd proceeded to 
Segunda de Plateros street at the moment in which the deponent returned to his 
parlor. His deposition having been read, he ratified it as being the truth to his 
knowledge, and signed it. 

FREDERICK ZOPHY. 

Deposition of Ab: Pcml Leautatid. 

On the same day appeared before the judge the citizen Paul Leautaud, who, 
after protesting his willingness to tell the truth, deposed that he was born in 
France, was unmarried, thirty-eight years of age, residing at No. 5 Primera 
de Plateros street. 

Being interrogated as to the matters of this inquest, and in virtue of the ci- 
tation of his name, made by the inspector of the ward, and by the inspector of 
police, he deposed that from the balcony of his house he had seen, at about 10 
o'clock at night, on the 14th instant, a band of music followed by a crowd of 
people cheering for the French, for the United States, for Mexico, and for lib- 
erty; that this crowd passed along Segunda de Plateros street; that having left 
the balcony, he saw nothing more. He has ratified what is stated as being the 
truth. 

PAUL LEAUTAUD. 

Deposition of Mr. Angel de la Pena. 

On the 24th of the same month, before the judge, appeared Mr, Angel de la 
Pena, on a summons made to him personally. After promising to tell the truth, 
he deposed that such was his name ; that he was a native of Mexico, was mar- 
ried, was about fifty-three years of age, a property holder, residing at No. 11 
Vergara street. 

Being interrogated as to the matter of this inquest, he deposed that on the 
14th instant, at 10 o'clock at night, he was on the balcony of his house, taking 
a view of the public satisfaction which was felt by all the inhabitants of the 
city on account of the triumph of the arms of the supreme government over the 
forces of the rebel Marquez ; that he saw passing at tliat hour a band of music, 
followed by people, going from the north to the soutli, lighted up with four 
torches, and cheermg for liberty, for General Gonzalez Ortega, for the constitu- 
tion of 1857, and uttering other similar cries ; that he absolutely heard no cries 
uttered against the French or against any foreign nation ; that he did not see 
h em stop before the house of the legation of France, nor at any other place in 



128 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

tlie street. He observed, here that his house adjomed that of the minister of 
France, and that he, the said deponent, Avas on his balcony, and that this was 
why if they had uttered such cries and had stopped in the street, he could not 
have failed to hear it and see it. 

As to the shot Avhich was said to have been aimed on that evening at the 
minister of France, the first news which he received of that event was from 
the French newspaper called the Estafette; that in his house no person had 
gone upon the terrace, as there was no communication with it, said terrace being- 
lower than the hotel. 

He ratified and aflirmed what is above stated as being the truth, after it had 
been read, and has signed. 

ANGEL DE LA PENA. 

Dcjiosition of Mr. Manuel Pavia. 

On the same day, after summons made, appeared Mr. Manuel Pavia, and 
having the general questions put to him, he deposed that he was so named; that 
he was a native of Mexico, unmarried, a clerk, thirty-five years of age, living 
in the principal apartment of the Hotel de Vergara, on the first story. Being 
interrogated as to the matters of this inquest, he deposed that on the evening of 
the 14th histant he was at home with his family, and that at 10 o'clock he heard 
a band of music passing through the street; that he occupied himself in looking 
at it, and that he saw about twenty musicians, who came with a certain number 
of people in a direction from north to south ; that they passed without halting 
in any part of the street; they hurrahed for General Gonzales Ortega, for liberty, 
and for the government ; that he positively heard no cries of " Down with the 
French! down with the minister of France!" cries mentioned in this inquest ; 
that perhaps the minister of France confounded these cries with those which 
were really put forth, and which were, "Down with the assassins of foreigners!" 
That, as to the shot which is said to have been aimed at the aforesaid minister 
at 8 o'clock in the evening of the same day, the first news which he had of it 
was in the newspapers, Avhich he reads every day, and that since he has heard 
no one speak of that event. 

The witness aflirmed, ratified, and signed the above statement as being the 
truth. 

M. PAVIA. 

De2)osition of Mr. Angus tin Midland. 

Afterwards appeared, on summons, Mr, Augustin Michaud, who, on the 
general questions being put to him, deposed that he was thus named ; that he 
was from France, was married, was twenty-nine years of age, was a merchant , 
living at No. 10 Seganda De San Francisco street. 

. Being interrogated, in consequence of the allusion made to him personally by 
the citizen regidor, Manuel Parada, in his report relative to the present inquest, 
he said it was true that, after ten o'clock on the evening of the 14th instant, 
when the triumph of the government forces was being celebrated in this capital, 
the music of the municipal body stopped before the door of his house; it was 
accompanied by a crowd of people, and by respectable persons of this city; that 
with pleasure he heard his fellow-citizens hurrrah for Mexico, and heard the 
Mexicans hurrah for the French and for foreigners ; that among the pieces of 
music which followed was recognized the hymn of the Marsdiaise, and the song 
of the country, called Los Cangrejos. 

The witness ratified this deposition, after it had been read, as being in con- 
formity to the truth. 

/ AUGUSTIN MICHAUD. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 129 



Deposition qf Mr. dc Pierres. 

I 

On tlie same day a second summons, by letter, was addressed to the Count 
de Pierres. 

On the twenty-fifth of said month appeared, on summons made, Eugene de 
Pierres, a French citizen, interrogated through the interpreter, Mr. Miguel de 
Bustamante, who first declared that he should report in Spanish what the wit- 
ness would testify to in French. He then said that the witness deposed that he 
Avas named as before mentioned ; that he was from France ; was unmarried ; 
was thirty-four years of age; and was temporarily in this republic. 

On the question whether he knew anything of the events which the minister 
of France had asserted to have taken place in his house on the evening of the 
14th instant, he was enjoined to tell what he kneAv, and how he knew it. He 
answered, that at ten minutes past eight o'clock of the evening of that day he 
had gone to pay a visit to the minister of France; that said minister told him 
that five minutes before eight o'clock, of nu.merous rockets which were sent up 
in the capital, it seemed the stick of one had fallen into his house, and that he 
had felt a very slight blow on his arm ; that they both went down stairs and 
into the court to look for this stick, but that they did not find it ; that neither 
did they find it in the gallery ; that on their return from the court a flattened 
ball was found at the base of the column which forms the arcade next to the 
staircase of the gallery, where the minister was Avalking, and on that column, as 
he learned, and saw at five o'clock in the afternoon of the nest day, there was 
a mark which the ball had imprinted, and the doorkeeper showed him the "wad, 
Avhich had caused the minister to believe that a shot had been aimed at him, for 
on the night of the event he had thought that the ball might have been attached 
to one of the rockets ; that even on the following evening he had entertained the 
same opinion, until in consequence of the above-mentioned facts, the mark being- 
seen on the column and the wad shown by the porter, the minister judged that 
he had been fired at ; that he ought to remark that the minister had told him 
that the wad was found at ten o'clock in the morning, and that the diplomatic 
body who had called to see him at two o'clock in the afternoon had seen it then, 
as well as the mark, indicating that the ball had struck the column. 

Being interrogated as to the hour at which he left the minister's house on the 
evening of the 14th instant, and whether he had noticed any alann among the 
sen'ants, he answered that he retired about a quarter to ten, or in the neighbor- 
hood of ten o'clock; he had not noticed that the servants were in anj-wise 
alarmed, for no importance had been attached to this occurrence. 

Being interrogated as to Avhether, when he spoke to the minister at five o'clock 
in the afternoon of the day following, the latter had manifested any suspicions 
as to the cause of the event or relative to the person who might have been the 
author of it, he answered that tliere had been no mention of this. 

Being interrogated as to whether he knew on the said evening of cries having 
been uttered before the house of the minister of France, and Avhether, when he 
came out of the house of that gentleman, he had noticed any groups in the 
streets, he ansAvered that on the next day he had learned from the minister him- 
self that under his balconies cries of " L)oAvn Avith the French! doAvn Avith the 
minister of France !" had been uttered, but that Avhen he came out he saAv no 
grou[) in the street, and the street Avas in its ordinary condition. 

After it had been read by the interpreter, he aftirmed that the foregoing Avas 
true, and he ratified it and signed it together Avith him. 

COUNT E. DE PIERRES. 
MIGUEL BUSTAMANTE. 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 9 



130 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Deposition of M. J. R. Massez. 

Afterwards appeared, in room No. 20 of tlie Hotel de Vergaca, M. J. R. Massez, 
who, having been first interrogated on the general questions according to law, 
deposed that he Avas named John, born in Italy, not married, a musician, aged 
twenty-five years, and living in that room. 

Interrogated upon the points on Avhich this investigations bears, he answered: 
That on the evening of the 14th instant, about eleven o'clock, he heard some 
musicians passing, playing on stringed instruments, and accompanied by some 
common people, and uttering various cries ; this arrested his attention, and he 
went on the balcony, and there heard them crying, " Down with Mejia ! live 
pure religion ! live the government!" That he absolutely heard no cries of 
"Down with the French," or "Down with the French minister;" that this body 
of musicians halted nowhere ; that he had specially noticed that several other 
musical companies', playing on wind instruments, had passed during the night 
in question, but. they took the route by the corner of San Francisco street, and 
deponent supposes some Frenchmen were among them, because the Marseillaise 
was sung ; that he has not heard that any one walked on the roof that night ; 
and does not know that any one was found on said roof ; that he was absolutely 
ignorant that on that evening a shot had been fired at the minister of France, 
because he only learned that event by reading it in the Estafette. 

After this deposition had been read by him, he ratified and confirmed it as 
being the truth, and signed it. 

JEAN R. MASSEZ. 

Depositio7i of M. John Janis Lduurent. 

On the same day, af'ter service of summons, appeared M. John Janis Lau- 
rent. The questions required by law having been put to him, he answered that 
he was called as had been stated, born in France, not married, aged twenty-nine 
years, merchant, living at the pastry-cook shop in Segunda de Ratevos street, 
No.3. , 

Interrogated as to the facts which caused the summons issued to him by In- 
spector Morali and the colonel-in-chief of the police, citizen Porssoro G. Leon, 
he deposed that on the night of the celebration here of the victory gained by Gen- 
eral Gonzales Ortega over the bands commanded by Marquez, there passed, about 
ten o'clock in the evening, a body of musicians, who stopped at the pastry shop, 
Plaisant, of which the deponent is the manager; that amongst the crowd which ac- 
companied the music there were many well-dressed persons, and that the accla- 
mations which were uttered were all in honor of the French, of the United 
States, and of Gonzales Ortega; that several of these persons came into the 
shop, asked for a bottle of champagne, and drank healths in the same terms as 
their acclamations ; that as soon as they went out, with the music and the com- 
mon people who accompanied them, all took the way to the Profesa house, sing- 
■ ing and playing the Marseillaise. After reading made, he ratified what is above 
as being the truth, and signed it. 

J. J. LAURENT. 

Written deposition of M. J. M. TJrquidi. 

Mexico, August 22, 1861. 

Through your polite communication of yesterday, I am informed that in the 
investigation, the conduct of which is confided to your court, touching the crim- 
inal acts denounced by his excellency the French minister, and which happened 
on the evening of the 14th instant, order has been issued to proceed and question 



THE PRESENT CONUlTION OF MEXICO. 131 

upon these facts all the inliabitauts of Veogara street, in wliicli is tlie liouse 
where the French minister resides. You add that, as I reside in the same street, 
you desire that I should infonn you of all that I know touching such events. 
According to the intimations of your communication, on the evening of that 
day, about ten o'clock, a body of about twenty musicians, accompanied by 
a group, among whom were some soldiers in uniform, halted before the en- 
trance of the French legation, shouting, " Down with the French !" " Down with 
the French minister ! " and on the same evening, at eight o'clock, that a shot 
had been fired, aimed at the body of the French minister. 

Having rallied my recollections touching what had passed that evening, I 
now answer to the questions you address to me : that after ten o'clock there, in 
fact, was a group of people that passed along the street going from north to 
south ; it was composed of persons following musicians. As far as I recollect, ^ 
I saw no soldiers there, nothwithstanding torches lighted up the group. I heard 
different cries, vivas, and down with them, but I did not clearly distinguish 
what was cried' save the cry of " Down with Mejia !" 

I did not see that on their way they stopped before the hotel of the French 
legation, although the house where I live almost fronts it. That evening I saw . 
th^horoughfares traversed by groups, who passed along the streets celebrating 
the victory of General Ortega in the environs of Toluco. 

I think it was also on the occasion of this holiday that musket shots were 
fired, which I heard from the beginning of the night, at times more, at times 
less frequent ; but I am entirely ignorant where they were fired, and whether 
there was one which was aimed at his excellency the French minister. This is 
all I can say, in assuring you of my respect and esteem. 

JOSE M. UKQUIDI. 

The Seventh Criminal Judge. 

Written deposition of Mr. Zerecero. 

Office of the Civil Registry of the First Tribunal, 

Mexico, August 24, 1861. 

In reply to your communications of yesterday, in which you ask me if the 
band of music of the municipal guard, in passing through Plateros street, accom- 
panied by a crowd of people, on the evening of the celebration of the victory 
gained by the constitutional pafty under the orders of General Gonzales Ortega 
at Jalattaco, stopped in front of the French pastry shop of M. Plaisant, crying 
"Live France, the French, and the United States !" I say to you that as the moon 
was shining, I remained with my family on the balcony of my house until after 
midnight ; that I saw groups passing one after another shouting vivas in honor 
of liberty, of refonn, of the hero of Calpulalpua, and of the French ; that their 
enthusiasm redoubled when they came in front of the pastry shop of M. Plaisant, 
whence they went in the direction of the street San Francisco, playing and 
singing, alternately, the Marseillaise and los Cangrajos. This is all I can say to 
you, sir, in reply to your communication of yesterday, in renewing to you the 
assurance of my respect and esteem. 

A. ZERECERO. 

The Licentiate Mariano Arrieta, 

Seventh Judge on the Criminal Bench. 

Mexico, August 27, 1861. 
True copy. 



132 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Judgment ujmn tlie facts investigated. 

Mexico, August 27, 1S61. 

Regards beiug had to the direction issued by order of the supreme govern- 
ment, in consequence of the complaint laid before it on the 17th of this mouth 
by Messieurs the ministers of the United States and of Russia, and Messieurs 
the charge d'affaires of Belgium and Ecuador, on account of Messieur the minis- 
ter of France having informed them of verbal abusiveness addressed to him 
when at his hotel on the evening of the 14th instant, and an attempt at assassi- 
nation, which the minister above mentioned affirms was committed against him 
personally. , 

Considering, in the first place, that in denouncing the fact to the public au- 
thorities, it is submitted to a procedure in accordance with the universally- 
adopted principles of all legislation, the purpose of which is to seek for a founda- 
tion which can be relied on, and which consists in complete proof of the sub- 
stance of the offence. 

In the second place, that the existence of the substance of the offence is not 
proven m what touches the two facts which would constitute it in the present 
ease, except by the testimony only of the minister and by that of persons who 
only had cogniz&uce of the facts from the statement of the said minister, that 
IS to say, from the testimony, only of the person aggrieved; that this testimony, 
although of the most respectable kind, regard being had to the high character 
of the deponent, is nevertheless, of itself alone, ineificient to constitute perfect 
proof. 

In the tTiird place, considering that jf this isolated circumstance would in a 
legal proceeding suffice to render doubtful the fact of the perpetration of an 
offence of any kind, such a conclusion is so much more natural, when an offence 
IS m question of so grave importance, as well by its own nature as by the char- 
acter of the person who has been the object of it, and by the sad and natural 
consequences which it might have. 

In the fourth place, that, if to give to the evidence of witnesses the weight 
which it deserves, it is indispensable to have regard to the quality of the persons 
who depose ; to the credit, .more or less great, that should attach to them, as 
well for then- good repute as for the absence of interest to conceal the truth, it 
must be concluded that the complaint of Monsieur the minister of Trance is 
deprived of any foundation ; for, even supposing some of the circumstances 
averred which have induced him to depose to that concerning the attempt at 
homicide, they would offer explanations, if not altogether satisfactory, at least 
deprived of the alarming and odious character which the communication con- 
tamed on the first page of the papers of instruction ; besides this, we are pre- 
cluded_ from admitting the certainty of said circumstances, on examining with 
ImpartiaHty the force of the detailed report of the experts Monsieurs Ignatius 
Paron and Augustin Arellano ; it is clear, in fact, from this report, that the 
projectile could not have been aimed directly at the pillar where its mark is 
seen ; that, adverse to the statement of his excellency are opposed the deposi- 
tions of residents of Vergara street, all irreproachable people, among whom are 
found functionaries in high social position. 

Considering, in the fifth place, that, among the facts proven by this investi- 
gation, many are found which prove the enthusiasm and the harmony which 
reigned between the Mexican people and the foreigners on the evening of the 
14th ; enthusiasm and harmony which are at once translated by th- ^ries of 
vffi V^n^ French," and by the cries of " Death to the factions ;" hat it is not 
difficult that these cries may have been confounded by persons who heard them 
from a distance. Considering, in fine, that the investigation has been pressed 
as far as possible ; considering the fact that a ball -was found in the hotel of the 



TflE PRESENT COXDITION OF MEXICO. 133 

minister of France, it remains, at the most, proven that some one lias infringed 
the injunction of JsTovember, 1771, and the ordinances and rules relating to it, 
by firing a shot, "vvithout proof made how, hy whom, from what point, and for 
what purpose. 

Considering the laws 40, title 16, third part, and 2, title 16, book 2, of the 
last collection, I must declare, and do declare, that there is no cause to prose-' 
cute the warrant, of which report will be made to the third chamber of the 
superior court of this district. Full return shall be rendered to the supreme 
government, through the channel of the department of state to the department 
of justice. 

Ordered and decreed by the citizen Mariano Arrieta, seventh judge of the 
criminal bench, before me, notary public, who certify this. 

A true copy. 

J DE D. ARIAS. 



Mr. Ro77ie7-o to Mr. Setvard. 
[Translatio?!.] 

Washngtoi\, November 23, 1861. 

Mr. Secretary : I have the honor to invite your attention to the annexed 
publication, which contains a treaty concluded at London, the 31st October last 
past, between England, and France, and Spain, for intervention in Mexico, and 
which was sent to me by the Mexican minister resident at Paris, who assures 
me of the authenticity of the document. 

In the second paragraph of the first article of said convention you will note 
that the leaders of the allied forces are empowered in the most ample manner 
to carry out the further operations which, after having occupied the different 
forts and military positions of the Mexican coast, may appear proper to them, 
being on the spot, to achieve the object for which the expedition has been agreed 
upon. In the second article the contracting parties bind themselves not to ex- 
ercise over the internal affairs of Mexico any influences of tendency to impair 
the right which belongs to the Mexican nation freely to choose and determine 
the form of its government. 

The simple declaration that Mexico has the right to choose and determine the 
form of its government allows the true purpose of the expedition, which it was 
intended to dissemble precisely in these words to shine forth. 

Who questions such right 1 If the allies are going to gitarantee it, do they 
not give to understand by this that in -their views the constitutional government 
of the republic is an unpopular government which tyrannizes over the nation, 
and preserves its power only by force of arms, against whose tyranny the allies 
declare themselves as champions, and undertake the expedition in order to its 
overthrow 1 What encouragement will not the constant disturbers of public 
order receive in Mexico on perceiving that they are almost invited to rise in 
, order to destroy the despotism which it is supposed weighs upon them, and that 
tlireo of the principal powers of western Europe expressly guarantee to them 
the liberty to choose and determine the form- of government which may suit 
them ? What is that despotic government Avhich Aveighs upon the Mexican 
people, which, without other elements than its devoted faith in republican prin- 
ciples, and in stiict adherence to the rights of the people, fought and triumphed 
on the battle-fields and at the electoral ballot-boxes over the privileged classes, 
who combined the moral and material strength of the country, and whose ex- 
istence M'as anterior to tliat of Mexico as an independent nation ? What will be 



134 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

that wliicli tlie allies once in Mexico may earnestly desire to characterize as the 
national will, and what the movements they may take in virtue of the terms, 
purposely vague, of the convention 1 

It is, in truth, much to be regretted that just at the moment when public order 
and tranquillity were about to be reduced to system in Mexico, if the country 
were left to settle its own affairs, a foreign expedition should be organized ap- 
parently for the purpose of forcible interference with the internal affairs of that 
republic, by overthrowing the government and by giving fresh fuel to that civil 
war which was coming to its close. 

As the institutions which at present prevail in Mexico are identical with those 
of this country, and as, should their subversion in that country be brought about, 
they would suffer a rude shock that would cause them to totter throughout the 
other republics of this continent, it seems to me that the dangers which actually 
threaten Mexico are not exclusively limited to her, but extend to all republican 
America. ' 

I hope, sir, therefore, that the United States, which were the first to establish 
such institutions, at the same time that they have thus far derived the greatest 
benefits from them, and have manifested most zeal for their preservation and 
propagation, will not look with indifference upon the storm Avhich is brewing 
not alone against the Mexican nation, but against republican institutions in 
America and the antonomy of this continent. 

It will be very satisfactory to me to transmit to my government the assurances 
which, upon this important matter, you may be able to give me in the name of 
the United States. 

I avail of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assurances of my most 
distinguished consideration. 

M. KOMERO. 

Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Sfc, Sfc, Sfc. 



Convention hetxceen her Majesty, the Queen of 8pain, and the Em-peror of the 
French relative to combined operations against Mexico ; signed at London, 
October 31, 1861.* 

Sa Majeste la Reine du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, 
sa Majeste la Reine d'Espagne, et sa Majeste I'Empereur des Fran^ais, se trou- 
vant placees par la conduite arbitraire et vexatoire des autorites de la repub- 
lique du Mexique dans la necessite d'exiger de ces autorites une protection plus 
efficace pour les personnes et les proprietes de leurs sujets, ainsi que I'execution 
des obligations contractees envers elles par la republique du Mexique, se sont 
entendues pour conclure entre elles une convention dans le but de combiner leur 
action commune, et, a cet effet, ont nomme pour leurs plenipotentiaires, savoir : 

Sa Majeste la Reine du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, 
le GCres Honorable Jean Comte Russell, Vicomte Amberley de Amberley et 
Ardsalla, Pair du Royaume Uni, conseiller de sa Majeste Britannique en son 
conseil prive, principal secretaire d'etat de sa Majeste pour les affaires 
etrangeres ; 

Sa Majeste la Reine d'Espagne, Don Xavier de Isturiz y Montero, chevalier 
de I'ordre insigne du toison d'or, grand croix de I'ordre royal et distingue de 
Charles III, de I'ordre imperial de la legion d'honneur de France, des ordres 
de la conception de Villaviciosa et Christ de Portugal, senateur du royaume, 
ancien president du conseil de ministres et premier secretaire d'etat de sa 
Majeste Catholique, et son envoye extraordinaire et miuistre plenipoteutiaii'e 
pres sa Majeste Britannique; 

* Eatiflcations exchanged at London, November 15, 1861. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 135 

Et sa Majeste I'Empereur des Fran^ais, son excellence le Comte de Flahault 
de la Billarderie, senateur, general de division, grand croix de la legion 
d'honuem*, ambassadeur extraordinaire de sa Majeste Imperiale pres sa Majeste 
Britannique ; 

Lesquels, apres s'^tre communique reciproquement- leurs pleins pouvoirs 
respectifs, trouves en bonne et due forme, sont tombes d'accord pour an-eter les 
articles suivants : 

Abticle L 

Sa Majeste la Reine du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, 
sa Majeste la Reine d'Espagne, et sa Majeste I'Empereur des Fran^ais, 
s'engagent a arreter aussitot apres la signature de la presente convention, les 
dispositions necessaires pour envojer sur les cotes du Mexique des forces de 
ten-e et de mer combinees dont I'effectif sera detennine par un echange ulterieur 
de communications entre leurs gouvernements, mais dont I'ensemble devra etre 
suffisant pour pouvoir saisir et occuper les differentes forteresses et positions 
militaires du littoral Mexicain. 

Les commandants des forces aUiees seront, en outre, autorises a accomplir les 
autres operations qui seraient jugees, siir les lieux, les plus propres a realiser 
le but specific dans le preambule de la presente convention, et notamment a 
assurer la securite des residents etrangers. 

Toutes les mesures dont U s'agit dans cet article seront prises au nom et pour 
le compte des hautes parties contractantes, sans acception de la nationalite par- 
ticuliere des forces employees a les executer. 

Article II 

Les bautes parties contractantes s'engagent a ne rechercher pour elles-memes, 
dans I'emploi des mesures coercitives prevues par la presente convention, 
aucune acquisition de territoire ni aucun avantage particulier, et a n'exercer, 
dans les affaires interieures du Mexique, aucune influence de nature a porter 
atteinte au droit de la nation Mexicaine de choisir et de constituer librement la 
forme de son gouvernement. 

Article III. 

Une commission composee de trois commissaires, un nomme par cbacune des 
puissances contractantes, sera etablie avec plein pouvoir de statuer sur toutes 
les questions que pourrait soulever I'emploi ou la distribution des sommes 
d'argeut qui seront recouvrees au Mexique, en ayant ^gard aux droits respectifs 
des trois pai'ties contractantes. 

Article IV. 

Les hautes parties contractantes .ddsirant, en outre, que les mesures qu'elles 
ont I'intention d'adopter n'aient pas un caractere exclusif, et sacbant qlfce le 
gouvernement des Etats Unis a, de son cote, des reclamations a faire valoir, 
comme elles, contre la republique Mexicaine, conviennent qu'aussitot apres la 
signature de la presente convention il en sera communique une copie au gou- 
vernement des Etats Unis ; que ce gouvernement sera invito a y acceder ; et 
qu'en prevision de cette accession leurs ministres respectifs a Wasbington 
seront immediatement munis de pleins pouvoirs a I'effet de conclure et de 
signer, collcctivement ou sepaniment, avec le plenipotcntiaire designe par le 
President des Etats Unis, une convention identique, sauf suppression du present 
article, a celle qu'elles signent a la date de cc jour. IMais comme les bautes 
parties contractantes s'exposeraicut, en apportant quelque retard a la mise a 



136 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

execution des Articles I et II de la preseute convention, a manqner le but 
qu'elles dosirent atteindre, cHes sont tomb6es d'accord de no pas difFerer, en vue 
d'obtenir racccssion du gouvernement des Etats Unis, lo commencement- des 
operations sus-mentionnees au dela de I'epoque a laqiielle lenrs forces com- 
binees ponrront etre rennies dans les parages de Vera Cruz. 

Article V. 

La presente convention sei\a ratifiee, et les ratifications en seront ecbangfees 
a Londres, dans le delai de quinze jours. 

En foi de quoi les plenipotentiaires respectifs I'ont signe, et j ont appose le 
sceau de leurs armes. 

Fait a Londres, en triple original, le trente-unieme jour du mois d'Octobre, 
de I'an de grace mil buit cent soixaute-un. 

[L. S.I 



[L.S. 

[l. s. 



RUSSELL. 

XAVIER DE ISTUEIZ. 

FLAHAULT. 



[Tranalation ] 

Her Majesty tbe Queen of tbe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
lier Majesty" the Queen of Spain, and bis Majesty tbe Emperor of tbe French, 
feeling themselves compelled by the arbitrary and vexatious conduct of tbe 
authorities of tbe rej)ublic of Mexico to demand from those authorities more 
efficacious protection for the persons and properties of their subjects, as. well as 
a fulfilment of tbe obligations contracted towards their Majesties by the republic 
of Mexico, have agreed to conclude a convention with a view to combine their 
common action, and, for this purpose, have named as their plenipotentiaries, 
that is to say : • 

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
tbe Eight Honorable John Earl Russell, Viscount Amberley, of Amberley, and 
Ardsalla, a peer of the United Kingdom, a member of her Britannic Majesty's 
privy cormcil, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs; 

Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, Don Xavier de Isturiz y Montero, knight 
of the illustrious order of tbe golden fleece, grand cross of the royal and distin- 
guished order of Charles III, of the imperial order of the legion of honor of 
France, of tbe orders of the conception of Villaviciosa and Christ of Portugal, 
senator of the kingdom, late president of the council of ministers, and first 
secretary of state of her Catholic Majesty, and her envoy extraordinary and 
minister plenipotentiary to her Britannic Majesty; 

And his Majesty the Emperor of the French, his excellency tbe Count de 
Flahault de la Biilarderie, senator, general of division, grand cross of tbe legion 
of honor, his Imperial Majesty's ambassador extraordinary to her Britannic 
Majesty; 

Who, after having reciprocally communicated their respective full powers, 
found in good and due form, have agreed upon tbe following articles : 

Article I. 

Her Majesty the Q'ueen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
her Majesty tbe Queen of Spain, and bis Majesty, the Emperor of the Frfnich, 
engage to make, immediately after tbe signature of the present convention, the 
necessary arrangements for despatching to the coasts of Mexico combined naval 
and military forces, tbe strength of which shall be determined by a further inter- 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 137 

cliange of communications between tlieir governments, but of which the total 
sliairbe .sufficient to seize and occupy the several fortresses and military posi- 
tions on the Mexican coast. 

The commanders of the allied forces shall be, moreover, autKorized to execute 
the other operations wjiich may be considered, on the spot, most suitable to 
effect the object specified in the preamble of the present convention, and specifi- 
cally to insure the security of foreign residents. 

All the measures contemplated in this article shall be taken in the name and 
on account of the high contracting parties, without reference to the particular 
nationality of the forces employed to execute them. 

Article II. 

The high contracting parties engage not to seek for themselves, in the employ- 
ment of the coercive measures contemplated by the present convention, any 
acquisition of territory nor any special advantage, and not to exercise in the 
internal affairs of Mexico any influence of a nature to prejudice the right of the 
Mexican nation to choose and to constitute freely the form of its government. 

Article III. 

A commission composed of three commissioners, one to be named by each of 
the contraeting powers, shall be established with full authority to determine all 
questions that may arise as to the application or distribution of the sums of 
money which may be recovered from Mexico, having regard to the respective 
rights of the three contracting parties. 

4 ♦ 

Article IV. 

The high contracting parties desiring, moreover, that the measures which they 
intend to adopt should not bear an exclusive character, and being aAvare that the 
govemmenlf of the United States on its part has, like them, claims to enforce 
upon the Mexican republic, agree that immediately after the signature of the 
present convention a copy thereof shall be communicated to the government of 
the United States; that that government shall be invited to accede to it; and 
that in 'anticipation of that accession their respective ministers at Washington 
shall be at once furnished with full powers for the purpose of concluding and 
signing, collectively or separately, with the plenipotentiary designated by the 
President of the United States, a convention identic, save the suppression of the 
present article, with that which they sign this day. But as by delaying to put 
into execution Articles I and II of the present convention, the high contracting 
parties would incur a risk of failing in the object which they desire to attain, 
they have agreed not to defer, with the view of obtaining the accession of the 
government of the United States, the commencement of the above-mentioned 
operations beyond the time at which their combined forces can be assembled in 
the neighborhood of Vera Cruz. 

Article V. 

The present convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications thereof shall be 
exchanged at London within fifteen days. 

In witness whereof, tlie respective plenipotentiaries have signed it, and have 
affixed thereto the seal of their arms. 

Done at London, in triplicate, the thirty-first day of the month of October, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one. 
L. s.l RUSSELL. 

L. s. XAVIER DE ISTURIZ. 

L. s.J FLAHAULT. 



138 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Mr. Ro?nero to Mr. Seward. 
[Translation.] 

Mexican Legation in the United States of America, 

Washington, Novemher 28, 1861. 

Mr. Secretarv: As it seems, according to all the appearances by which we 
may reasonably judge, the real object of the European allies, who signed in 
London the treaty of the 31st of October, is to subvert the form of government 
which actually exists in Mexico, and to overthrow the constitution which the 
people of that republic freely chose for itself, I deem it not inappropriate to 
transmit to you, for the information of the government of the United States, 
a copy, in English, of the political constitution of Mexico. You will observe, 
sir, that this code is founded upon the same bases upon which the Constitution 
of the United States rests, the work of the thoughts and study of the wise and 
patriotic sons of this country, M'ho made it independent, and who knew how to 
lay the foundations of its greatness and development. 

The people of Mexico, who have witnessed with surprise the astonishing 
prosperity at which this country has arrived in the short period of its existence 
as an independent nation, have desired to arrive at this same result by pursuing, 
in order to reach it, the same course, and by availing themselves of the same 
means. They have believed that this would be to them the more probable, be- 
cause Mexico abounds in the same elements which nature, with her prodigal 
hand, has scattered over this land, and because its people, having once enjoyed 
the blessings of democratic institutions, have determined to maintain them, and 
to defend their liberties. 

Scarcely had the constitution of 1857 been promulgated, when the privileged 
classes of Mexico — the clergy and the army, accustomed to govern the country 
by despotism — rebelled against the instrument which recognized and sanctioned 
the rights of the people and their equality before the law. Then there arose 
a gigantic and unequal contest, in which on one side fought the organized and 
disciplined forces, sustained with the money of the clergy, and on the other the 
popular masses, without discipline, and without the resources to meet the ex- 
penses of the war which was carried on throughout the whole extent of the 
Mexican territory. 

The repeated reverses which the people met Avith at the outset served to 
discipline them, the guns of their enemies to arm them, and at the end of a 
bloody and ceaseless contest of three years' duration the popular and constitu- 
tional cause obtained, without foreign aid of any nature, the victory to which it 
was entitled by the justice of the principles which it defended and the constancy 
and inflexible determination of its defenders. 

The supremacy of the law having been re-establised throughout the entire 
Mexican ten-itory, the implacable enemies of the liberties of the people sought 
to overthrow the constitution, availing themselves of various expedients ; but 
the people of Mexico with an extraordinary unanimity, and manifesting a good 
sense which Avould do honor to the most enlightened people in the Avorld, refused 
peremptorily to resort to the measures proposed to them, under the plea of saving 
the country, but for the real purpose of subverting the public liberties, and 
nearly all the legislatures of the States issued decrees renewing their allegiance 
to the constitution, solemnly protesting not to acknowledge any other authority 
created outside of said constitution, and threatening to reassume their sovereignty 
in the event of such revolutionary authority being established. 

Perceiving the inefficiency of the measures proposed, others were resorted to. 
It was sought to present the question as merely a personal one, and it was at- 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



139 



tempted to make the person who at present fills the executive chair of the na- 
tion resign the presidency. Happily the good sense of the country and its de- 
votion to the law were so powerful that this other expedient was confounded 
also by the determination of the States to sustain the government which had 
emanated from the popidar choice. The legislatures ratified their previous pro- 
tests against any change whatever. They declared again that they would sup- 
port the government established by the vote of the nation, and the governors of 
several of the States did the same. 

Among a series of newspapers of the past month, which I have just received 
from Mexico, I find some of the decrees and protests to which I have referred, 
and Avhich I have the honor to transmit to you to the number of six, in the or- 
der set forth in the index which I enclose herewith. 

The efforts made in the interior of Mexico to overthrow the present constitu- 
tional government having proved ineffectual, it now appears that the determined 
and implacable enemies of democratic and liberal institutions have resorted to 
the last imaginable extreme left them, by seeking outside of the country the 
means which they could not find anywhere else to effect their desired aim. 
How far these fears have any foundation is left to events to make known to us 
within a brief period. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the assurances of my 
very distinguished consideration. 

M. ROMERO. 

Hon. William H. Seward, ^v., S^c., ^r. 



[Translation.] 

A?i index of the documents transmitted to tlie Department of 8tate of the United 
States, with the note from this legation of this date. 




Contents. 



Copy in English of ttie federal constitution of the United Mexican 

States, adopted and sworn to on the 5th of February, 1857, 
Decree of the legislature of the State of Durango, protesting against tho 

establishment of any revolutionary authority. 
Decree of the legislature of the State of Chicopas to the same effect as. 

the foregoing, and declaring that it will support the government of 

Mr. Juarez. 
Decree of the legislature of the State of Aguas-Calientes to the same 

effect as the foregoing, and asking President Juarez not to abandon 

the presidency. 
Remonstrance of the governor of the State of Aguas-Calientes against 

the project of the resignation of Mr. Juarez. 
Remonstrance of the governor of the State of Queretaro to the same 

effect as the preceding. 
Remonstrance of the governor of the State of Jalisco to tho same effect 

as the preceding. 



Washunoton, A'i/vember 28, 1861. 



140 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



MEXICO— CONSTITUTION OF 1857. 

Ignacio Comonfort, jiresident suhstitute of the Mexican repuhlic, to the inhahi- 

tants of the same. 

Be it known that tke extraordinary constituent congress has decreed as fol- 
lows : 

In the name of God and by the authority of the Mexican people — 
The representatives of the different .States, the district and territories that 
comprise the republic of Mexico, called by the plan proclaimed in Ayutla on 
the 1st of March, 1854, reformed in Acapulco on the 11th of the same month 
and year, and published by the convention of October 17, 1855, in order to con- 
stitute the nation under the democratic republican form, representative and 
popular, putting in exercise the powers with whi'ch they are vested, comply 
with their high charge by decreeing the following 

CONSTITUTION 

Of the Mexican republic, uj^on the indestructible base of its legitimate inde- 
pendence, proclaimed the lQ)th of Septemher, 1810, and consummated on the 
21th of September, 1821. 

Title I. 

Section first. — Of the rights of man. 

V Article 1. The Mexican people recognize that the rights of man are the 
basis and the object of social institutions. Wherefore it is declared that all the 
laws and the authorities of the country must respect and sustain the guarantees 
established by the present constitution. 

Article 2. All are born free in the republic. Slaves that set foot upon the 
national territory recover by that single act their liberty, and have the right to 
the protection of the laws. 

Article 3. Education is free. The law shall determine what professions 
need license for their exercise, and with what requisites relative thereto. , 

Article 4. Every man is free to adopt such profession or industrial pursuit 
as he may prefer, the same being useful and honorable, and to enjoy the pro- 
ducts thereof. Neither shall any one be hindered in the exercise of such profes- 
sion or industrial pursuit unless by judicial sentence, when the same prejudices, 
the rights of a third person, or by executive order, dictated in terms prescribed 
by law, in case the same offends the rights of society. 

Article 5. No one shall be forced to give his personal labor without just 
remuneration and without his full consent. The law shall not authorize any 
contract having for its object the loss or the irrevocable sacrifice of the liberty of 
man, whether the same be for labor, education, or religious vows. Neither shall 
the law authorize agreements by which a man stipulates his own proscription 
or exile. 

Article 6. The expression of opinions shall not be the object of any inqui- 
sition, judicial or administrative, except when the same is an attack upon morals, 
assails the rights of third parties, incites to any crime or offence, or disturbs 
public order. 

Article 7. The liberty of writing and publishing works on whatsoever sub- 
jects is inviolable. No law nor authority shall establish previous censorship, 
nor exact bonds from the authors or printers, nor limit the liberty of the press, 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 141 

whicli lias no limits but witli regard to private life, to morals, and the public 
peace. The crimes of the press shall be judged by one jury that shall deter- 
mine the fact, and by another that shall apply the law and fix the penalty. 

Article 8. The right of petition is inviolable, exercised in writing and in a 
manner respectful and pacific ; but in political matters it can only be exercised 
by citizens of the republic. To all petitions shall be returned the written 
opinion of the authority to whom they may have been directed, upon whom the 
obligation is imposed of making known the result to the petitioner. 

Article 9. To none shall be limited the right to associate or reunite pacifically 
for whatsoever lawful object ; but only the citizens of the republic can assemble 
in order to take part in the political affairs of the country. No armed assembly 
has the right of deliberation. 

Article 10, All men have the right to possess and carry arms for their 
security and legitimate defence. The law shall determine what shall be pro- 
hibited and the penalty to be incurred for carrying them. 

Article 11, All men have the right of entering and leaving the republic, of 
travelling through its territory, and of changing their residence without the 
necessity of letters of security, passports, salvo conducta, or other similar requi- 
site. The exercise of this right shall not prejudice the legitimate faculties of 
the judicial or administrative authority in cases of criminal or civil responsibility. 

Article 12, There are not, nor shall there be, recognized in the republic, 
titles of nobility, nor prerogatives, nor hereditary honors. Solely the people, 
legitimately represented, may decree recompenses in honor of those that have, 
given or, are rendering eminent services to their country or to humanity. 

Article 13. In the Mexican republic no one shall be judged by special 
laws . nor by special tribunals. No person or corporation can have fiieros, nor 
enjoy emoluments that are not in compensation for a public service and that are 
established by law. Martial law shall exist solely for crimes and offences that 
have exact connexion with military discipline. The law shall prescribe with 
clearness the cases included in this exception. 

Article 14. No retractive law shall be passed. No one shall be judged or 
sentenced except under laws of date anterior to the fact and exactly applicable 
to the case, and by a tribunal which shall have been previously established by 
law. 

Article. 15. Treaties shall never be made for the extradition of political 
offenders, nor for that of those criminals under the common law, who shall have 
been held in the country where the offence was committed in the condition of 
slaves ; nor shall conventions or treaties be made by which in any manner are 
altered the rights and guarantees which this constitution secures to the man and 
to the citizen. 

Article 16, No one may be molested in his person, family, domicile, papers 
or possessions, except in virtue of a written order from a competent aiithority 
based upon legal cause for the proceeding. In case of high crimes all persons 
may apprehend the offenders and their accomplices, putting them without delay 
at the disposal of the nearest authorities. 

Article 17. No one can be arrested for. debts of a character purely civil. 
No one may exercise violence in reclaiming his rights. Tribunals are estab- 
lished for aclministermg justice ; this shall be gratuitous, judicial costs arc there- 
fore abolished. 

Article 18. Imprisonment shall only take place for offences which merit 
personal ])mnshmeut. In whatever stage of the proceedings it shall appi^ir that 
the accused may not b<; liable to this penalty, he shall be put at liberty under 
bail. In no case shall the imprisonment be prolonged for defaidt of payment of 
fees or whatever other furnishing of money. 

Article 19. No detention shall exceed the term of three days, except upon 
proof of sufficient reason for imprisonment, in confonnity with the recpisites 



142 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

required by law. The sole lapse of this time shall render responsible the 
authority that orders or consents to it, and the agents, officers or jailers, that 
execute it. All maltreatment in the apprehension or confinement of prisoners, 
all hardship which shall be inflicted without legal motive, and all taxes or con- 
tributions in the prisons, are abuses which shall be corrected by the laws and 
severely punished by the authorities. 

Article 20. In all criminal trials the accused shall have the following guar- 
antees : First. That of being informed of the motive of the proceeding and the 
name of the accuser, if there should be one. Second. That of taking his pre- 
paratory declaration within forty-eight hours, computed from the time of the 
order for his arrest from the judge. Third. That of being confronted with the 
witnesses against him. Fourth. That he shall be furnished with the facts and 
averments contained in the accusation, in order to prepare his defence. Fifth. 
That of being heard in defence by himself or by counsel, or by both, according 
as he may desire. In case of having no one to defend him, he shall be pre- 
sented with a list of the official counsel that he may select the one or the ones 
he may desire. 

Article 21. The application of punishment, properly such, belongs to the 
judicial authority. Political or administrative authorities can only impose, as 
corrections, fines not exceeding five hundred dollars, and confinement not exceed- 
ing one month, in cases and manner expressly determined by law. 

Article 22. There shall be forever prohibited penalties of mutilation and of 
infamy, branding, flogging, the bastinado, torture of whatever species, excessive 
fines, confiscation of property, or whatever other unsuitable or unusual punish- 
ment. 

Article 23. In order to abolish the penalty of death, the administrative 
power is charged with establishing, without delay, a penitentiary system. Un- 
til then it shall be abolished for political offences, and shall not be used in other 
than cases of high treason during foreign war, highway robbery, arson, parricide, 
muvder with malice premeditated or for gain, high military offences, and for 
piracy, as defined by law. 

Article 24. No criminal proceeding may have more than three instances. 
No one shall be tried twice for the same offence, whether he be absolved or con- 
demned by the judgment. The practice of exempting from the regular course 
of proceedings shall be abolished. 

Article 23. Sealed correspondence circulating by the mails shall be invio- 
lable. The violation of this guarantee is an offence which the law shall severely 
chastise. 

Article 26. In time of peace no military authority may exact quarters, 
transportation, or other service, real or personal, without the consent of the pro- 
prietor. In time of war it may only be taken in the manner prescribed by law. 

Article 27. Private property shall not be taken without the consent of the 
owner, except in cases of public utility and with previous indemnification. The 
law shall determine the authority that may make the appropriation in such cases, 
and the requisites for its exercise. No corporation, civil or ecclesiastical, what- 
ever may be its character, denomination, or object, shall have legal power to 
acquire in proprietorship, or to administer for itself real estate, with the sole ex- 
ception of edifices destined exclusively and directly to the purpose or object of 
the institution. 

Article 28. Monopolies shall not be established, nor places for the sale of 
privileged goods, nor prohibitions in the character of so-called protections to in- 
dustry, excepting solely those relative to the coining of money, to the mails, and 
to those privileges which, fot a limited time, are conceded by the law to the 
inventors or perfectors of any improvement. 

Article 29. In cases of invasion, grave disturbance of the public peace, or 
whatever cause which may put society in great peril or conflict, solely the Presi- 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 143 

dent of tlie republic in concurrence with tlie council of ministers and witli the 
approbation of the congress of the union, and in the recess of this, of the 
permanent deputation, may suspend the guai*antees established by this consitu- 
tion, with exception of those that assure the life of man ; but such suspension 
shall be only for a limited time, by means of general provisions, and of such a 
character as not to favor a determined individual purpose. If the suspension 
take place during the session of congress, this shall grant such authorization 
as they shall esteem necessa,ry to enable the executive to confront the circum- 
stances. If it "shall take place during recess the permanent deputation shall, 
without delay, convoke the congress for its advice and action. 

Section second. — Of Mexicans. 

Article 30. They are Mexicans : First. Who are born within or without 
the republic, of Mexican fathers. Second. Strangers that are naturalized in 
conformity with the laws of the federation. Third. Strangers who acquire real 
estate in the republic, or have Mexican sons ; providing always, they do not 
manifest their resolution to preserve their nationality. 

Article 31. It is obligatory upon all Mexicans: First. To defend the in- 
dependence, the territory, the honor, the rights, and the interests of their country. 
Second. To contribute towards public expenses, as well of the federation as of 
the State and municipality where they may reside, in an equitable and propor- 
tional manner, as shall be prescribed by the laws. 

Article 32. Mexicans shall be preferred to strangers under equality of cir- 
cumstances for all public employments, trusts, or commissions named by the 
authorities, when the quality of citizenship shall not be indispensable. 

Laws shall be formed for improving the condition of Mexican laborers, pro- 
viding premiums for those who distinguish themselves in whatever science or 
art, stimulating industry, and founding colleges and practical schools of art and 
industry. 

Section third. — Of strangers. 

Article 33. Those are strangers who do not possess the qualifications de- 
termined in article 30. They are entitled to the guarantees established by sec- 
tion first, title first, of the present constitution, except that in all cases the 
government has the right to expel those who are pernicious to society. 

It is obligatory upon them to contribute towards public expenses in the 
manner that may be prescribed by the laws, and to obey and respect the insti- 
tutions, laws, and authorities of the country, submitting to the judgments and 
sentences of the tribunals, without power to seek other protection than that 
which the laws concede to Mexican citizens. 

Section fourth. — Of Mexican citizens. 

Article 34. Those are citizens of the republic who, having the quality of 
Mexicans, have also the following requisites: First. Eighteen years of age if 
married, or twenty -one if not married. Second. An honest means of livelihood. 

Article 35. The prerogatives of citizens are: First. To vote at popular 
elections. Second. To be voted for for any office subject to popular election, 
and of being selected for any other employment or commission, having the re- 
quisite qualifications established by law. Third. To associate to discuss the 
political business of the country. Fourth. To take arms in the army or in the 
national guard, in defence of the republic and its institutions. Fifth. To exer- 
cise in all cases the right of petition. 

Article 36. It is obligatory upon citizens of the republic: First. To be 



144 THE- PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

registered in tlie poll-list of liis municipality, stating the property of wliich he 
is possessed, and the industry, profession, or labor by which he subsists. Second. 
To enlist in the national guard. Third. To vote at popular elections in the dis- 
trict to which he belongs. Fourth. To assist in the conduct of popular elections; 
which services, however, shall be subject to remuneration. 

Article 37. The character of citizen is lost: First. By naturalization in a 
foreign country. Second. By serving officially the government of another coun- 
try, accepting its decorations, titles, or employments, without previous permission 
from the federal congress, excepting literary, scientific, or benevolent titles, 
which may be accepted freely. 

Article 38. The law shall prescribe the cases and the form in which may 
be lost or suspended the rights of citizenship, and the manner in which they 
may be regained. 

Title II. 

Section first. — Of the national sovereignty and the form of government. 

' Article 39. The national sovereignty resides essentially and originally in 
the people. All public power springs from the people and is instituted for their 
benefit. The people have at all times the inalienable right of altering or modi- 
fying their form of government. 

Article 40. The Mexican people voluntarily constitute themselves a demo- 
cratic, federal, representative republic, formed of States free and sovereign in all 
that concerns their interior government, but united in a federation established 
according to the principles of this fundamental law. 

Article 41. The people exercise their sovereignty by means of federal officers 
in cases belonging to the federation, and through those of the States in all that" 
relates to the internal affairs of the States, in the manner respectively established 
by this federal constitution, and by the constitutions of the States, which latter 
shall never conflict with the federal compact. 

Section second. — Of the integral parts of the federation and of the natiooml 

territory. 

Article 42. The national territory comprises the integTal parts of the fed- 
eration, and the adjacent islands in both seas. 

Article 43. The integral parts of the federation are : The States of Aguas 
Calientes, Colima, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, 
Mexico, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon y Coahuila, Oajaca, Puebla, Queretaro, San 
Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Valle de Mexico, 
Vera Cruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas, and the Territory of Lower California. 

Article 44. The States of Aguas Calientes,' Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, 
Guerrero, Mexico, Puebla, Queretaro, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and the 
Territory of Lower California, preserve the limits which they now have. 

Article 45. The States of Colima and Tlaxcala preserve in their new char- 
acter of States the limits which they had as territories of the federation. 

Article 46. The State of the Valley of Mexico is formed of the territory 
actually composing the federal district, but the erection into a State shall only 
have effect when the supreme federal authorities shall be removed to another 
place. 

Article 47. The State of Nuevo Leon y Coahuila comprises the territory 
which heretofore, coiuposed the two States of which it is now formed, except the 
part of the hacienda of Bonanza, which is reincorporated in Zacatecas, in the 
same tei-ms as were established before its incorporation with Coahuila. 

Article 48. The States of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Oajaca, San 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO." 145 

Luis Potosi, Tabasco, Vera Cruz, Yucatan, and Zacatecas, recover the extension 
and limits wliich they had on the 31st of December, 1852, with the alterations 
which are established in the following article. 

Article 49. The town of Oontepec, which has belonged to Guanajuato, is 
incorporated in Michoacan. The municipality of Ahualulco, which has be- 
longed to Zacatecas, is incorporated in San Luis Potosi. The municipalities of 
Ojo Oaliente and San Francisco de los Adames, which have belonged to San 
Luis, as well as the towns of Nueva, Tlaxcala and San Andres del Teul, 
which have belonged to Jalisco, are incorporated in Zacatecas. The depart- 
ment of Tuxpan continues to form part of Vera Cruz. The canton of Huimau- 
guillo, which has belonged to Vera Cruz, is incorporated in Tabasco. 

Title III. 

Of the division of powers. 

Article 50. The supreme power of the federation is divided for its exercise 
into legislative, executive, and judicial. Two or more of these powers can never 
be united in the same person, nor the legislative power be deposited in one indi- 
vidual. 

Section first. — Of the legislative power. 

Article 51. The exercise of the supreme legislative power is deposited in 
one assembly, which shall be denominated the Congress of the Union. 

Paragraph first. — Of the election and installation of congress. 

Article 52. The congress of the union shall be composed of representa- 
tives elected in their entire number, each two years, by Mexican citizens. 

Article 53. A deputy shall be named for each 40,000 inhabitants, or for 
each fraction over 20,000. The Territory in which the population shall be less 
than this shall still be entitled to send one deputy. 

Article 54. For each deputy proper shall be elected also a substitute. 

Article bb. The election for deputies shall be indirect in the first degree, 
and by secret ballot, in the manner which shall be prescribed by the electoral 
law. 

Article 56. In order to be eligible as a deputy it is required to be a Mexican 
citizen in the full exercise of his rights ; to have completed 25 years of age on 
the day of the opening of the session ; to be a resident of the State or Territory 
which makes the election, and not to be an ecclesiastic. Residence is not lost 
by absence in the discharge of any public trust bestowed by popular election. 

Article 57. The position of deputy is incompatible with the holding of any 
federal commission or office from which a salary is received. 

Article 58. The deputies proper, from the day of their election up to the 
day on which their trust is concluded, cannot accept any employment oftered by 
the executive of the union by which pay is received, except with the previous 
license of congress. The same requisites are necessary for depiity substitutes, 
when in the exercise of their functions. 

Article 59. The deputies are inviolable for their opinions expressed in the 
discliarge of their trust, and shall never be callqd to account for them. 

Article 60. Congress shall decide with regard to the election of its members, 
and determine any doubts that may occur regarding the same. 

Article 61. Congress may not open its sessions nor exercise its functions 
without the concurrence of more than half of the total number of its members ; 
but those present may convene on the day named by the law, and compel the 
attendance of absent members, under penalties which shall be designated. 
H. Ex. Doc. 100 10 



146 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Article 62. Congress stall have each year two ordinary sessions : the first 
shall commence on the 16th of September and shall terminate on the 15th of 
December, and the second, which cannot be prorogued, shall commence on the 
1st of April and terminate on the last day of May. 

Article 63. At the opening of the sessions the president of the union shall 
be present and shall deliver a message exhibiting the state of the union. The 
president of congress shall reply in general terms. 

Article 64. All resolutions of congress shall have no other character than 
that of laws or economical bills. The laws shall be communicated to the execu- 
tive, signed by the president and two secretaries. Economical bills by two 
secretaries. 

Paragrapli second. — Of the introduction and passage of laws. 

Article 65. The right of introducing laws belongs : First. To the presiden 
of the union. Second. To the deputies of the federal congress. Third. To 
the legislatures of the States. 

Article 66. A project of law presented by the president of the republic, by 
the legislatures of the States, or by deputations from the same, shall pass imme- 
diately to a committee. Those that may be presented by the deputies shall be 
subject to such action as shall be prescribed by the rules of debate. 

Article 67. All projects of law which may be rejected by congress cannot 
be presented again during the sessions of the year. 

Article 68. The second session shall be destined in all preference to the 
examination of and action upon the estimates for the following fiscal year, to the 
passage of the necessary appropriations according the same, and to the exami- 
nation of the accounts of the past year which shall be presented by the executive. 

Article 69. The day before the last of the first session, the executive shall 
present to congress the estimates for the coming year and the accounts of the 
last year. Both shall pass to a committee composed of five representatives, 
which shall be named the first day and which shall have the obligation of ex- 
amining both documents and presenting a report upon them at the second session 
of the second term. 

Article 70. The initiatories or projects of laws shall be subjected to the follow- 
ing course: First. The report of a committee. Second. One or two discussions 
in the manner expressed in the following clauses. Third. The first discussion 
shall take place on the day that may be designated by the president of congress, 
in conformity with the rules. Fourth. Upon the conclusion of this discussion a 
copy of the project shall be passed to the executive, that he may within the term 
of seven days give his opinion, or state that he does not desire to use this faculty. 
Fifth. If the opinion of the executive is favorable, the law shall be voted upon 
without further discussion. Sixth. If this opinion disagrees in whole or in part 
with the law proposed, the project shall be returned to the committee, that they 
may examine it de novo, taking into consideration the objections of the gov- 
ernment. Seventh. The new report shall receive a new discussion, and upon 
the conclusion of this the vote upon the law shall be taken. Eighth. The ap- 
probation of an absolute majority of the deputies present. 

Article 71. In cases of notorious urgency, qualified by the vote of two- 
thirds of the deputies present, congress may contract or dispense with the reg- 
ular course prescribed by article 70. 

Paragrapli third. — Of the faculties of congress. 

Article 72. Congress has the power: First. Of admitting new States or 
Territories into the federal union, incorporating them in the nation. Second. Of 
erecting Territories into States when they have a population of 80,000 inhabit- 
ants, and are proved to have the necessary elements for providing for their 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. l47 

political existence. Third. Of forming new States within the limits of those 
existing, providing, always, that they have a population of 80,000 inhabitants, 
and are proved to have the necessary resources for their political existence. In 
all cases the legislatures of the States whose territory is proposed to be taken 
shall be heard, and their concurrence shall be necessary, as well as the ratifica- 
tion of a majority of the legislatures of the States. Fourth. Of arranging 
definitively the limits of the States, terminating the differences which may arise 
between them respecting the boundaries of their respective territories, except 
when these differences have the character of contentions. . Fifth. Of changmg 
the residence of the supreme powers of the federation. Sixth. Of the internal 
government of the federal district and territories, upon the basis that the citi- 
zens shall elect, by popular voice, their political, municipal, and judicial authori- 
ties, and fix the taxes necessary to meet their local expenditures. Seventh. Of 
approving the federal estimates of expenditures, which shall be annually pre- 
sented by the executive, and of imposing the taxes necessary therefor. Eighth. 
Of giving bases under which the executive may procure loans vipon the faith of 
the national credit;, and of approving said loans, and of recognizing and ordering 
the payment of the national debt. Ninth. Of establishing tariffs upon foreign 
commerce, and of removing, by means of general laws, onerous restrictions 
which may be established in the commerce between different States, Tenth. Of 
astablishing general bases for mercantile legislation. Eleventh. Of creating and 
suppressing public employments of the federation, and of establishing, augment- 
ing, or diminishing their salaries. Twelfth. Of ratifying the appointments that 
may be made by the executive of ministers, diplomatic agents and consuls, of 
the higher employees of the treasury, and of colonels, and other higher ofl&cers 
in the army or national armed force. Thirteenth. Of ratifying the treaties, con- 
tracts, or diplomatic conventions which the executive may make. Fourteenth. 
Of declaring war upon the facts which may be presented by the executive. 
Fifteenth. Of regulating the mode in which privateers may be licensed; of 
dictating laws according to which captures by sea or land shall be declared good or 
bad; and also relative to maritime rights during peace and war. Sixteenth. 
Of permitting or refusing the entry of foreign troops into the territory of the 
federation, and of consenting to the station of sq[uadrons of other powers for 
more than one month in the waters of the republic. Seventeenth. Of permitting 
the passage of the national troops without the limits of the republic. Eighteenth. 
Of creating and sustaining the army and armed force of the Union, and 
of regulating its organization and service.. Nineteenth. Of making regulations 
for the purpose of organizing, aiTuing, and disciplining the national guaitl, reserv- 
ing to the citizens which compose it the appointment of the commanders and 
officers, and to the States the power of uistructing them in conformity with the 
discipline prescribed by said regulations. Twentieth. Of giving its consent that 
the executive may order the national guard Avithout their respective States or 
Territories, fixing the amount of the force necessary to be so used. Twenty- 
first. Of makiug laws regarding naturalization, colonization, and citizenship. 
Twenty-second. Of making laws regarding general means of communication, 
and regarding the post ofiice and mails. Twenty-third. Of establishing mints, 
prescribing the rules of their operation ; of determining the value of foreign 
coin, and adopting a general system of weights and measures. Twenty-fourth. 
Of prescribing the rules under which the public land may be occupied or sold, 
and the price of the same. Twenty-fifth. Of conceding pardons for offences 
cognizable by the tribunals of the federation. Twenty-sixth. Of awarding 
rewards or recompense for eminent services rendered to the country, or to human- 
ity ; and privileges, for a limited time, to inventors or perfectors of any improve- 
ment. Twenty-seventh. Of proroguing, for thirty business days, the first term 
of its ordinary sessions. Twenty-eighth. Of forming rules for its internal reg- 
ulation, and for compelling the attendance of absent members, and for correcting 



148 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. , 

tlie faults or omissions of tliose present. Twenty-ninth. Of appointing and 
removing freely its secretaries and auditors, and of organizing these offiesc 
according to law. Thirtieth. Of making all laws which may be necessary and 
proper to render effective the foregoing powers, and all others conceded by this 
constitution, to the powers of the union. 

^Paragraph fourth. — Of the permanent deputation. 

Article 73. During the recess of the congress of the union, there shall be 
a permanent deputation, composed of one deputy from each State and Territory, 
who shall be named by congress on the evening of the last day of its sessions. 
Article 74. The powers of the permanent deputation are the following : 
First. To give its consent to the use of the national guard in the cases spoken 
of in article 72, clause 20. Second. To determine by itself alone, or at the 
petition of the executive, the convocation of the congress in extraordinary ses- 
sion. Third. To approve in the case of appointments, as referred to in article 
85, clause 3. Fourth. To receive the oath of the president of the republic, and 
of the ministers of the supreme court of justice, in the cases provided by this 
constitution. Fifth. To report upon all the business not disposed of, in order 
that the session which follows may immediately take up such unfinished busi- 
ness. 

Section two. — Of the executive power. 

Article 75. The exercise of the supreme executive power of the union 
shall be deposited in one sole individual, who shall be called President of the 
United Mexican States. 

Article 76. The election of president shall be indirect in the fh-st grade, 
and by secret ballot, in such manner as may be prescribed by the electoral law. 

Article 77. In order to be president it is required to be a citizen of the 
Mexican republic by birth, in the exercise of his rights, to be thirty -five years 
of age at the time of election, not to belong to the eclesiastical state, and to be 
a resident in the country at the time the election takes place. 

Article 78. The president shall enter upon the exercise of his functions on 
the first day of December, and remain in ofiice four years. 

Article 79. In temporary default of a president of the republic, and in the 
vacancy before the installation of the newly elected, the president of the supreme 
court of justice shall enter upon the exercise of the functions of president. 

Article 80. If the default of president be absolute, a new election shall be 
proceeded with, according to the provisions of article 76, and the one so elected 
shall exercise his functions until the last day of November of the fourth year 
following his election. 

Article 81. The trust of president can only be resigned for grave cause, 
approved by congress, before whom shall be presented the resignation. 

Article 82. If, from whatever reason, the election of president shall not 
have been made and published by the 1st of December upon which the change 
is to take place, or if the newly elected is not able to enter promptly upon the 
exercise of his functions, the term of the preceding president shall nevertheless 
cease, and the supreme executive power shall be deposited ad interim in the 
president of the supreme court of justice. 

Article 83. The president, in taking possession of his tnist, shall swear 
before congress, and in its recess before the permanent deputation, in the follow- 
ing manner : " I swear to discharge faithfully and patriotically the trust of Presi- 
dent of the United Mexican States accoroing to the constitution, and seeking in 
all things for the good and prosperity of the union." 

Article 84. The president cannot leave the residence of the federal powers, 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 149 

nor the exercise of his functions, without grave motive, approved by congress, 
or in its recess by the permanent deputation. 

Article 85. The powers and obligations of the president are the following: 
First. To promulgate and enforce the laws passed by the congress of the union, 
attending in the administrative sphere to their exact observance. ^ Second. To 
appoint and remove freely secretaries of state; to remove diplomatic agents and 
superior employes of the treasury; and to appoint and remove freely all other 
federal officers whose appointment or removal is not otherwise provided for in the 
constitution or by the laws. Third. To appoint ministers, diplomatic agents, 
and consuls general, with the approbation of congress, or in its recess of the per- 
manent deputation. Fourth. To appoint, with the approbation of congress, col- 
onels and other higher officers in the army and national armed force, and the 
higher employes of the treasury. Fifth. To appoint all other officers of the 
ai-my and national navy according to law. Sixth. To dispose of the permanent 
national armed force by sea or by land for the internal security and external de- 
fence of the federation. Seventh. To dispose of the national guard for the same 
objects, according to the provisions of clause 20th of article 72. Eighth. To de- 
clare war in the name of the United Mexican States, after the passage of the 
necessary law by the congress of the union. Ninth. To authorize privateers, 
subject to the basis fixed by congress. Tenth. To direct diplomatic negotia- 
tions, and to make treaties with foreign powers, submitting them to the ratifica- 
tion of the federal congress. Eleventh. To receive ministers or other envoys of 
foreign powers. Twelfth. To convoke congress in extraordinary session, with 
the consent of the permanent deputation. Thirteenth. To extend to the judicial 
power such assistance as may be necessary for the prompt exercise of its func- 
tions. Fourteenth. To open all classes of ports, estabhsh frontier and mari- 
time custom-houses, and prescribe their location. Fifteenth. To grant, in con- 
formity with the laws, pardons to criminals sentenced for crimes cognizable by 
the federal tribunals. 

Articlp 86. For the despatch of the business of the administrative depart- 
ments of the federation that number of secretaryships shall be appointed which 
may be prescribed by congress by a law, which shall also provide for the distri- 
bution of business, and prescribe what shall be the department of each secretary. 

Article 87. To be secretary of state it is required to be a Mexican citizen 
by birth, being in the exercise of his rights, and having completed twenty-five 
years of age. 

Article 88. All the regulations, decrees, and orders of the president shall 
be signed by the secretary of state charged with the branch to which the busi- 
ness belongs. Without this requisite they shall not be obeyed. 

Article 89. The secretaries of state, immediately after the opening of the 
sessions of the first term, shall render an account to congress of the state of 
their respective departments. 

Section third. — Of the judicial pmver. 

Article 90. The exercise of the judicial power of the federation shall be 
deposited in a supreme court of justice and in the district and circuit courts. 

Article 91. The supreme court of justice shall be composed of eleven judges 
proprietary, four supremary judges, one attorney general, and one solicitor 
general. 

Article 92. Each one of the individuals composing the supreme court of 
justice shall hold office during six years, and their election shall be indirect in 
the first grade, according to the terms prescribed by the electoral law. 

Article 93. To be eligible as a member of the supreme court of justice it 
i? required to be instructed in the science of law according to the judgment of 



150 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

the election, to be more than thh-tj-five years of age, and a Mexican citizen hj 
birtli, in the exercise of his rights. 

Article 94. The members of the supreme court of justice upon entering 
upon the exercise of their trust shall make oath before congress, or, in its recess, 
before the penuanent deputation, in the following manner : " Do you swear to 
discharge faithfully and patriotically the trust of magistrate of the supreme 
court of justice, conferred upon you by the people, in conformity with the con- 
stitution, and seeking in all things the good and prosperity of the union?" 

Article 95, The duties of members of the supreme court of justice can only 
be resigned for grave reason, approved by congress, to whom the resignation 
shall be presented ; in the recess of congress, before the permanent deputation. 

Article 96. The law shall establish and organize the circuit and district 
courts. 

Article 97. It belongs to the federal tribunals to take cognizance of: First. 
All controversies which may arise in regard to the fulfilment and application of 
the federal laws. Second. All cases pertaining to maritime law. Third. Those 
in which the federation may be a party. Fourth. Those that may arise between 
two or more States. Fifth. Those that may arise between a State and one or 
more citizens of another State. Sixth. Civil or criminal cases that may arise 
under treaties with foreign powers. Seventh. Cases concerning diplomatic 
agents and consuls. 

Article 98. It belongs, to the supreme court of justice to take cognizance 
from the first proceeding of controversies that may arise between one State and 
another, and of those wherein the union may be a party. 

Article 99. It also belongs to the supreme court of justice to decide regard- 
ing cases of jurisdiction among the federal courts, between these and those of 
the States, and between those of one State and those of another. 

Article 100. In the rest of the cases comprehended in article 97, the supreme 
court of justice shall be a court of appeal, or rather of last resort, according to 
the graduation which the law may make in the jurisdiction of the .circuit and 
district courts. 

Article 101. The tribunals of the federation shall decide all questions that 
may arise : First. Under the laws or acts of whatever authority which violate 
individual guarantees. Second. Under the laws or acts of the federal authorities 
which invade or restrict the sovereignty of the States. Third. Under the laws 
or acts of the States which invade the exercise of the federal authority. 

Article 102. All the decisions of which mention is made in the preceding 
article shall take place on the petition of the party aggrieved, and by means ot 
formal judicial proceedings, as shall be prescribed by law. The sentence shall 
be always such as to affect private individuals only, and is intended as merely 
a protection in the special cases to which the process refers, without -embracing 
any general declaration regarding the law or act in question. 

Title IV. 

Of ilie responsihility of jpuhlic functionaries. 

Article 103. The deputies to the congress of the union, the members of 
the supreme com't of justice, and the secretaries of state, shall be held respon- 
sible for ordinary offences which they may commit during their term of office, 
as well as the crimes, faults, or omissions of which they may be guilty in the 
exercise of their trust. 

The governors of the States are also responsible for infractions of the consti- 
tution and of federal law. 

So is also the president of the republic ; but during the tei-m of his office he 
can only be accused in case of the offences of treason, express violation of the 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 151 

constitution, attack upon the electoral franchise, and grave crimes against public 
order. 

Article 104. In case of ordinary crime, congress, sitting as a grand jury, 
shall declare, by an absolute majority of votes, if there is cause of proceeding 
against the accused, or not. If the latter, no further proceeding shall take 
place ; if the former, the accused shall immediately be deprived of his office and 
subjected to the action of the ordinary tribunals. 

Article 105. Official offences shall be cognizable by congress as a jury of 
accusation, and the supreme court of justice as a jury of sentence. The jury 
of accusation has for its object to declare, by an absolute majority of votes, if 
the accused is culpable or not. If the declaration is favorable, the functionary 
shall continue in the exercise of his trust; if it is condemnatory, the accused 
shall be immediately deprived of his office and placed at the disposition of the 
supreme court of justice. This in fall court, and sitting as a jury of sentence, 
in the presence of the offender, the attorney general, and the accuser, if such 
there should be, shall proceed to apply, by an absolute majority of votes, the 
penalty which the law may have prescribed. 

Article 106. After the sentence is pronounced of responsibility for official 
crime, no exercise of the pardoning power can be extended to the offender. 

Article 107. Responsibility for official crimes or errors only maintains 
during the period of occupation of office and one year thereafter. 

Article lOS. With reference to the requirements of civil war there shall be 
no privileged class, nor exemption for any public functionary, / 

Title V. 

Of the States of the federation. 

Article 109. The States shall adopt for their interior regulation the form of 
popular representative republican government. 

Article 110. The States may arrange among themselves, by friendly agree- 
ments, their respective limits, but such arrangements shall not go into effect 
without the approbation of the congress of the union. 

Article 111. The States cannot in any case : First. Form alliances, treaties, 
or coalitions with other States, nor with foreign powers, excepting the coalitions 
which may be formed among the frontier States for offensive or defensive war 
against the Indians. Second. Grant letters of marque or reprisal. Thkd. Coin 
money, or emit paper money, or sealed paper. 

Article 112. Neither may they, without the consent of the congress of the 
union : First. Establish tonnage duty, or any other port duty, nor impose con- 
tributions, or duties upon importations or exportations. Second. Have at any 
time permanent troops or vessels-of-war. Third. Make war by itself upon any 
foreign power, except in case of invasion or such imminent peril as admits of 
no delay. In these cases immediate notice shall be given to the president of the 
republic. 

Article 113. Each State has the obligation of delivering, without delay, the 
criminals of other States to the authorities that claim them. 

Article 114. The governors of the States are obliged to publish and cause 
to be obeyed the federal laws. 

Article 115. In each State of the federation entire faith and credit shall be 
given to the public acts, registers, and judicial proceedings of all the others. 
Congress may, by means of general laws, prescribe the manner of proving these 
acts, registers, and proceedings, and their effects. 

Article 116. The powers of the union shall protect the States against all 
invasion or exterior violence. In case of internal disorder or rebellion they 
ahall give equal protection, providing always that it be applied for by the legis- 
lature of the State, or by the governor, if the legislature is not in session. 



152 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Title VI. 

General provisions. 

Article 117. The powers which are not expressly conceded by this consti- 
tution to the federal authorities are understood to be reserved to the States. 

Article 118. No person can, at the same time, hold two federal elective 
offices, but, if elected to two, he may select between them. 

Article 119. No payment of money shall be made that is not embraced in 
the fiscal estimates or determined by previous law. ' • 

Article 120. The pi-esident of the republic, the members of the supreme 
court of justice, the deputies, and other public officers of the federation popularly 
chosen, shall receive a compensation for their sei-vices, which shall be determined . 
by law, and paid by the national treasury. This compensation cannot be re- 
nounced, and any law that augments or diminishes it shall not have effect during 
the period for which the functionary holds the office. 

Article 121. All public functionaries, M'ithout any exception, before taking 
possession of their offices, shall swear to observe and protect the constitution 
and the laws that emanate from it. 

Article 122. In time of peace no military authority can exercise more func- 
tions than are in exact connexion with military discipline. There shall be fixed 
and permanent military authority in the castles, ports, and storehouses which 
belong immediately to the federal government, or in encamjiments, baiTacks, or 
depots which may be established without the towns for the station of troops. 

Article 123. It belongs excl-usively to the federal powers to exercise in 
matters of religious belief and discipline the intervention which may be pre- 
scribed by the laws. 

Article 124. From the first day of June, 1858, alcabalas and interior 
custom-houses shall be abolished in all the republic. 

Article 125. The forts, quarters, storehouses, and other buildings of the 
government of the union shall be under the immediate inspection of the federal 
authorities. 

Article 126. This constitution, the laws of the congress of the union which 
emanate from it, and all treaties made or that may be made by the president of 
the republic with the approbation of congress, shall be the supreme law of all 
the union. The judges of each State in giving their decisions shall do so in 
conformity with said constitution, laws, and treaties, anything to the contrary 
that there may be in the laws or constitution of the States notwithstanding. 

Title VII. 
Of the alterations of tlie constitution. 

Article 127. The present constitution may be added to or altered. In order 
that additions or alterations may become part of the constitution, it is necessary 
that such additions or alterations shall be approved of by the congress of the 
union by the vote of two-thirds of those present, and that they should also be 
approved by a majority of the legislatures of the States. 

The congress of the union shall take account of the votes of the legislatures 
and the declaration that the addition or alteration had been approved. 

Title VIII. 

Of the inviolability of the constitution. 

Article 128. This constitution shall not lose its force and vigor even if its 
observance be interrupted by any rebellion. In case that, by means of such an 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 153 

event, a government shall have been established contrary to the principles which 
it sanctions, immediately upon the people recovering their liberty its observance 
shall be re-established, and according to its provisions and the laws which have 
been framed in virtue of it, they shall be judged as well those who have 
figured in the government emanating from the rebellion as those who have co- 
operated with it. 

Temporary article. 

This constitution shall be published immediately, and shall be sworn to with 
the greatest solemnity in all the republic, but with the exception of the disposi- 
tions relative to the election of the svipreme powers of the federation, and of the 
States, it shall not commence to have force until the 16th day of September 
next ensuing, when the first constitutional congress is to be installed. Until 
then the president of the republic and the supreme court of justice, who are to 
continue in exercise of their functions until the inauguration of the individuals 
constitutionally elected, shall govern themselves in the discharge of their obli- 
gations and powers by the precepts of this constitution. 

Dated in the hall of sessions of congress, at Mexico, the 5th day of February, 
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, and thirty-seventh of independence. 

VALENTINE GOMEZ FARIAS, 

Deputy for the State of Jalisco, President. 
LEON GUZMAN, 

De2)uty for the State of Mexico, Vice-President. 

For the State of Aguas Calientes, Manuel Buenrostro. 

For the State of Chiapas, Francisco Robles, Matias Oastellanos. 

For the State of Chihuahua, Jose E. Munoz, Pedro Ignacio Irigoyen. 

For the State of Coahuila, Simon de la Garza y Melo. 

For the State of Durango, Marcelino Castaneda, Francisco Zarco 

For the federal district, Francisco de P. Condejas, Jose Maria del Rio, 
PoNciANo Arriaga, J. M. DEL Castello Velasco,Manuel Morales Puente. 

For the State of Guanajuato, Ignacio Sierra, Antonio Lemus, Jose de 
la Luz Rosas, Juan Morales, Antonio Aguado, Francisco P. Montanez, 
Francisco Guerrero, Blas Balcarcel. 

For the State of Guerrero, Francisco Ibarra. 

For the State of Jalisco, Espiridion Moreno, Mariano Faranda, Jesus 
Anaya y Hermosillo, Albino Aranda, Ignacio Louis Vallarta, Benito 
Gomez Farias, Jesus 1). Rojas, Ignacio Ochoa Sanchez, Guillermo 
Langlois, Joaquin M. Degollado. 

For the State of Mexico, Antonio Escudero, Jose L. Re villa, Julian 
Estrada, I. de la Pena y Barragan, Esteban Paez, Rafael Maria Vil- 
lagran, F. Fernandez de Alfaro, Justing Fernandez, Eulogio Barrera, 
M. Romero Rubio, Manuel de la Pexa y Ramirez, Manuel Fernando 
Soto. 

For the State of Michoacan, Santos Degollado, Sabas Iturbide, Fran- 
cisco G. Anaya, Ramon I. Alcaraz, Francisco Dias Barriga, Luis Gutier- 
rez CoRREA, Mariano Ramirez, Mateo Echaiz. 

For the State of Nuevo Leon, Manuel P. De Llano. 

For the State of Oaxaca, Mariano Zavala, G. Larazabal, Ignacio Mar- 
iscAL, Juan N. Cerqueda, Felix Romero, M. E. Goytia. 

For the State of Puebla, Miguel Maria Arrioja, Fernando M. Ortega, 
Guillermo Pribto, J. Mariano Viadas, Francisco Banuet, Manuel M. 
Vargas, F. L. Estrado, Juan N. Ibarra, Juan N. de la Parra. 

For the State of Querctaro, Ignacio Reyes. 

For the State of San Luis Potosi, Francisco J. Villalobos, Pablo Tellez. 



154 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

For the State of Sinaloa, Ignacio Ramirez. 

For the State of Sonora, Benito QuintaNa. 

For the State of Tabasco, Gregorio Payro. 

For the State of TamauHpas, Luis Garcia de Arellano. 

For the State of Tkxcala, Jose Mariano Sanchez. 

For the State of Vera Cruz, JosB de Emparan, Jose Maria Mata, Rafael 
Gonzalez Paez, Mariano Vega, 

For the State of Yucatan, Benito Quijano, Francisco Iniestra, Pedro 
de Baranda, Pedro Contreras Elizalde, 

For the Territory of Tehuantepec, Joaquin Garcia Granados. 

For the State of Zacatecas, Miguel Auza, Agustin Lopez de Nava, 
Basilio Perez Gallardo. 

For the Territory of Lower California, Mateo Ramirez 

Jose Maria Cortes y Esparza, for the State of Guanajuato, Deputy Sec- 
retary. 

IsiDORO Olvera, for the State of Mexico, Deputy Secretary. 

Juan de Dios Arias, for the State of Puebla, Deputy Secretary. 

J. A. Gamboa, for the State of Oaxaca, Deputy Secretary. 

Wherefore, I order that it he printed, published, circulated, and that it be fully 
complied with in the terms which it prescribes. 

Palace of the national government, at Mexico, February 12, 1857. 

IGNATIO COMONFORT. 

The Citizen Ignatio de la Llave, 

Secretary of State and of the Department of Government. 

I communicate it to you for its publication and fulfilment. God and liberty. 

LLAVE. 
Mexico, Fehruary 12, 1857. 



No. 2. 

[Translation.] 

Jost Maria Patoni, constitutional governor of the State of Durango, to its 
inhabitants : Know ye that the honorable legislature thereof has decreed the 
following : 

The legislature of the State of Durango decrees : 

Article 1. The legislature of the State of Durango approves the decree of 
the honorable legislature of Zacatecas dated the 4th of May last past. There- 
fore it does not recognize as legitimate, and it protests against, the establishment 
of all authority foreign to the constitutional order. 

Article 2. Should such revolutionary authority be established the State 
will consider the federal compact broken, and it will reassume its sovereignty, 
recalling its representatives in the general congress. 

The governor of the State will order this to be published, circulated, and 
observed. 

EDUARDO ESCARZAGA, 

Deputy President. 
LUIS DE LA TORRE, 

Deputy Secretary. 
AGUSTIN LEYVA, 

Deputy Secretary. 
Victoria of Durango, June 22, 1861. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 155 

DuRANGO, June 23, 1861. 

Let ttis be piiblishecT, circulated, and communicated to whomsoever it may 
concern for its strict observance. 

JOSE MAEIA PATONI. 

CAYETANO MASOARENAS, Secretary. 

Washington, Novemher^ 28, 1861. 

A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 3. 

[Translation.] 

Office of the Secretary of State of the 

Government of the State of Chiapas. 

Tlie citizen governor delegate of the State has been pleased to transmit to me 
the following decree : 

The citizen Juan Chimaco Corzo, governor delegate of the free and sovereign 
State of Chiapas, to its inhabitants : KnoAv ye that the congress thereof has 
been pleased to decree the following : 

Article 1. The congress of the State, legitimately representing the people 
of Chiapas, solemnly declares : 

1. That it reaffirms the protest made by it on the 4th day of January of the 
present year not to recognize as legal any authority whatever foreign to the 
constitutional order, whatever may be its denomination. 

2. That if such authority, evidentally a revolutionary one, should be estab- 
lished, the State will consider the bonds of union dissolved with the power which 
may arise, and from that moment it reassumes its sovereignty. 

Article 2. The State of Chiapas declares that it will sustain the vote of its 
citizens and of the majority of the nation cast in favor of the citizen Benito 
Juarez, the constitutional President of the United Mexican States. 

Article 3. This protest shall be laid before the supreme government, the 
sovereign congress of the union, and will be transmitted to the legislatures of 
the States and their governments. 

The governor of the State will cause it to be printed, published, circulated, and 
earned into effect. 

Given at the chambers of the congress of Chiapas on the 30tu day of the 
month of September, 1861. 

IGNAOIO CARDONA, 

Deputy President, 
J. MANUEL GAMBOA, 

Deputy Vice-President. 
JOSE MARIA FLORE S. 
VICTOR DOMINGUEZ. 
FRANCISCO AGUILAR. 
ABRAHAM ROJAS, 

Deptuty Secretary. 

MANUEL L. SOLORZANO, 

Deputy Secretary. 

Wherefore, I order it to be printed, published, circulated, and observed. 
Given at the palace of the government, San Cristobal, September 30, 1861 

J. C. CORZO. 
The Citizen Juan Jose Ramirez, 

Secretary General of the Department. 



156 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

San Cristobal, September 30, 1861. 

And I communicate it to you for your information and necessary ends. 
God, liberty, and reform. 

EAMIREZ. 

Washington, "November 28, 1861. 
A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 4. 

[Translation.] 

Manuel Oardona, by law tbe constitutional governor ad interim of the free 
State of Aguas Calientes, to its inhabitants : Know ye tbat the following 
decree has been communicated to me by the secretary of the sovereign congress 
of the State : 

Most Excellent Sir : The honorable legislature of the State, under this 
date, has issued the following decree : 

Number 6. 

The sovereign congress of the State, in the name of the people whom it re- 
presents, decrees : 

Article 1. The State of Aguas Calientes, represented by the legislative 
house, repel the request made by the disagreeing representatives, in which they 
ask the citizen president of the republic to divest himself of his power. 

Article 2. The same sovereign congress give a vote of thanks to the citizen 
governor of the State of Queretaro for the worthy reply which he gave to the 
dissenting members, upon their requestmg him to second their disorganizing and 
illegal views. 

Articles. The State, of Aguas Calientes, in conformity with its decree 
number 5, of the 13th of June of the present year, protests that it will defend 
the legitimate government ; and prays the constitutional president not to" aban- 
don the chief magistracy of the republic. 

To the governor of the State for his approval. 

Given in the hall of sessions of the honorable legislature, on the first of 
October, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one. 

ANTONIO RAYON, 

Deputy President. 
LUIS TOSCANO, 

Deputy Secretary. 
JUAN G. ALCAZAR, 

Deputy pro Secretary. 

Which we communicate to your excellency for your infoi-mation, renewing 
our consideration. 

God, liberty, and reform. Aguas Calientes, October 1, 1861. 

LUIS TOSCANO, D. S. 

JUAN G. ALCAZAR, D. P. S. 

His Excellency the Governor of the State. 

And that it may come to the knowledge of all persons, I order it to be printed 
and published by proclamation. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 157 

Issued at tlie government liall, at Aguas Calientes, this 3d day of October' 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the fortieth year of the independ- 
ence and the third year of the reform. 

MANUEL CAHDONA. 
J. IGNACIO MEDINA, 

Chief Clerk. 

Washington, November 28, 1861. 
A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 5. 

[Translation.] 

Constitutional government of the free and saver cign State of Aguas Calientes 

Bureau of Home Government, 

Aguas Calientes, October 1, 1861. 

The government of the State of Aguas Calientes has carefully considered the 
request which you made asking it to second the petition you have presented to 
the citizen president of the republic, with the view that he should resign the 
chief magistracy, and it would be wanting in its frankness and in its most sacred 
duties if it did not express in this reply all the ideas which that document has 
suggested. 

This government sees such an absurdity in the measure which is proposed 
by you to the citizen Benito Juarez that it utterly fails to comprehend how it 
could have entered the minds of persons so enlightened as the signers of the 
manifestation undoubtedly are. It is undeniable that a giddiness, produced by 
disappointment, has blinded you to that extent that you cannot see that the 
fundamental law of the nation is infringed upon ; that a wide door is opened to 
the aspirations which have been germinating ever since the capital of the republic 
was occupied by the legitimate government, and by which the national inde- 
pendence is placed in imminent danger, by which the bond which the federal 
system establishes is at once broken and the respect for law abandoned by those 
who should fearlessly sustain it. Civil war, being organized in factions, will de- 
stroy, in the most absolute manner, our beautiful country. 

The State of Aguas Calientes, by means of its press, has ever sustained the 
lawful government ; its citizens are fully persuaded that the national vote must 
be blindly respected, and its supreme legislature has thus manifested it in its 
decree No. 5, dated June 13, of the present year. 

The government believes that Mexico cannot be happy whilst the talents of 
the country, instead of promoting the interests of illegitimate aspirations, do 
not seek to inspire the majority with that great republican virtue by which a 
governor, when once elected, is obeyed and aided, its enemies becoming its most 
constant and decided supporters. 

Perhaps you, in the moment of excitement, have only thought of setting aside 
what is call(.-d an obstacle to the advancement of a policy, Avithout considering 
that it is not the absence of an individual which is left you, but an abyss — a law 
overthrown — and a phalanx of aspirants, incapable of conducting the ship of 
state to the haven selected by the illusions of a few persons. 

If, in these circumstances, prudence is not resorted to ; if it is not sought in 
good faith to aid the man whom the law alone should set aside at the proper 
time, we must despair of ever definitely constituting ourselves, because the 



158 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

means -wliicli you have adopted is entirely contrary to tlie sense of a nation 
grown weak tlirongli insurrections, and wliich lias conquered the sublime right 
of spontaneously electing the functionary who shall preside over its destinies. 

This government, as the faithful interpreter of the voice of the state, replies 
to you that it cannot and must not second your petition, because it perceives 
that, by deviating in the slightest degree from the path of legality, it would be 
to sink itself into the mire of insurrections, and to contribute in that the civil- 
ized world should witness the sad spectacle of eight millions of intelligent 
beings overcome by perpetual insanity. 

With the foregoing your petition is answered ; and now, renewing to you the 
assurances of my particular esteem, I am, &c. Liberty, constitution, and reform. 

MANUEL OARDONA. 
J. IGNACIO MEDINA, 

Chief Clerk. 

Washington, 'Novemher 28, 1861. 
A true copy. 

EOMERO. 



No. 6. 

[Ti-anslation.] 

Government of the Free and Sovereign State of Queretaro, 

Queretaro, Sejytemher 22, 1861. 

I have received the circular vfhich you were pleased to address to the citizen 
governor of the States under date of the 15th instant, and it becomes my duty 
to make the reply due thereto, and as you anticipate my frankness, which is 
most agreeable to me, I have the honor to reply to you. 

In addressing yourselves to the citizen president, asking him to relinquish the 
position in which the national vote has placed him, you give the reasons upon 
which you base your petition, charging upon the administration of Mr. Juarez 
all the serious evils which surround our unfortunate country. I declare to you 
that I see in this petition only the best intentions on your part, and far from me 
is it to accuse you of a dishonorable object, but I cannot do less than to point 
out to you the very serious calamities which the realization of your views thus 
initiated would entail. 

As you yourselves admit in your petition, the revolution which has caused 
the banner of reform to triumph on the fields of battle, has not been one of the 
many commotions which have agitated the country, and you yourselves desire 
to convert this revolution, which up to this period you know to be just, into one 
of the many convulsions which ambition and brutal force have created in this 
country. 

If this revolution, which you sustain, has had up to this day a national — a 
social — character, it has been because, as you also admit, it has been the only time 
that the law of legitimacy has prevailed in our country and not that of the 
sword; nevertheless, even conceding yoiu* petition, it would bring with it a 
principle of anarchy, because it would enable any faction to remove a magistrate 
whenever it saw fit to do so, and the respect which the laws should have would 
be lost. Of what use then would be constitutions, electoral laws, and the pub- 
lic vote in a country where the president descends from the high position to which 
the national will has elevated him, at the simple suggestion of a mere handful 
who in this or that character desire him to do so ? 

The citizen Juarez is charged with the evils which afflict the country, j 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 159 

stall neither set myself up as the judge of tlie accused, nor as the eulogist of 
him who is in power. I withhold my personal convictions, and I only speak to 
you^ as the representative of a State of the Mexican confederation, 

The State which has honored me with its confidence, when called upon to cast 
its vote like the others of the confederation for the presidency, did not do so in 
behalf of the citizen Juarez, because such was its convictions. But when once 
the electoral contest had teiTainated, it was the first to acknowledge the national 
will, as it will be to sustain it. 

No State more than that of Queretaro more deeply deplores the misfortunes 
which have overwhelmed it, because it has been unfortunately selected by the 
reaction as the theatre of its operations ; and for the sake of justice it confesses 
that if the inability of the general government has been the cause that the pro- 
per remedy has not been applied to its evils, it also knows that this same gov- 
ernment on many occasions adopted measures of an efficacious nature, and which 
did not have their salutary influence because the most urgent orders were 
frequently disobeyed by those to whom they were directed, perhaps already 
with the view of preparing the way for that which now occupies ou.r attention. 

In a word, fellow-citizens, the evil exists and it is a very serious one, but let 
not the remedy be sought in the persons ; let it be sought for at its true origin ; 
let these men of talents and with good intentions, sustained by the wise laws, 
seek to find the remedy, and let them not seek for an unfortunate division among 
otu'selves, which would destroy us in times like these ; let the sovereign con- 
gress unfold the programme of reform, and Mexico will be saved; but let not 
anarchy be introduced, nor the respect for the laws be relaxed. 

I believe, fellow-citizens, that I am in duty bound to make to you one last 
remark. The thought of the deposition of Mr. Juarez is not a measure dictated 
by a sincere policy, but it is an artifice, which is fully characterized as the 
revolt of certain ambitious parties, because I had previously been made acquainted 
with their labors by an invitation to aid them ; and I, comprehending the serious 
e\'ils which would be entailed thereby upon the country, repelled it with all the 
energy of my character, because you, in enumerating the evils which the citizen 
president has caused, forget to make mention of the triumph of the reaction, 
which the desire to apply to them the remedy which you proposed would bring 
about. ^. 

Such is the sincere expression of my views, and as such I give it to you. I 
present it to the nation whose name you invoke, that it may pronounce its judg- 
ment, and I conclude by declaring to that same nation that in me not individuals 
but principles will find a defender, and that the arms which have been intrusted 
to the State under my command shall never be used in breaking up the laws for 
the benefit of a faction, but, on the contrary, to sustain them with all the energy 
of him who feels the deep conviction that he complies with his duty. 

I renew to you the considerations of my esteem. Liberty and reform. 

JOSE MARIA ARTEAGA. 

Citizen Deputies Juan 0. Careaga, Manuel O. De Montellano, and 
Jose Linares, Mexico. 

Washington, November 28, 1861. 
A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



160 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 7. 

[Translation.] 

Supreme government of iliefree State of Jalisco, section of government. 

Guadalajara, September 30, 1861. 

I have received the circular communication which you were pleased to address 
to the government under my charge, dated the 15th of the month now closing, 
in which, as a committee in behalf of the citizens who signed the memorial 
addressed to the present depositary of the supreme executive power of the 
republic, asking him to resign the post which he now occupies, you urge me to 
second the views contained in that petition. 

In due reply, I have the honor to state to you that I do not concur in the 
mode proposed for obtaining the resignation of the citizen Juarez, nor in the 
change of this functionary, for reasons which I shall set forth, 

1st. Because the mode is illegal, as the petitioners have already been told in 
reply; for it is opposed to a declaration of the constitution, in virtue of which 
the citizen Juarez is president of the republic for the period marked out by the 
fundamental law. 

2d. Because fifty-one citizens, whatever may be the character and political 
representation of the party with which they are united in obtaining a change of 
this kind, do not form a majority of the nation, whose sovereign will ought to 
be respected. , 

3d. Because the change which is desired is not, in the judgment of the under- 
signed, the radical remedy that ought to be chosen for curing the evils which 
are deplored, but, on the contrary, is a brand of discord among true liberalists, 
which, in the present revolutionary circumstances of the country, would drive us 
into an abyss, from which we could not be withdrawn by the declamations of 
the press, nor by the conviction of having acted with imprudence on a subject of 
vital interest. 

According to the fundamental code of the republic, the ministry is responsible 
for the administrative acts of the executive, for which acts the ministers may 
be arraigned if they are wanting in obedience to the laws, since no order of the 
executive chief is to be obeyed unless it be authenticated by the secretary of 
the department to which it belongs, diflFerently from the president, who, not- 
withstanding, is responsible for infractions of the constitution and laws, but can 
only be arraigned during his official term for offences of treason to his country, 
express violation of the fundamental charter, attack on the freedom of elections, 
and grave offences of the common order. 

Therefore, I do not deem it just to reproach the citizen Juarez with the 
faults, omissions, and evils which are deplored by the fifty-one petitioners in 
the enumeration of them which they make in the appeal that they have thought 
proper to address to me. What is right, what is politic, and what is suitable, 
if there really be faults to charge, is to ask that the responsibility of the 
ministry be made effective. In any other mode the road is crooked, the evil is 
aggravated, and the law, the preservation of which has cost so much blood and 
countless sacrifices on the part of Mexicans, is frustrated. 

The undersigned is not a partisan of persons ; his convictions are firm for 
principles ; and believing, as he does, that the evils complained of in the country 
are not to be attributed to the present president in person, he thinks that, while 
no offence of those provided for in the constitution is committed, he ought to be 
left in peace to finish his term, to be assisted with the exertions of the truly 
liberal in the discharge of his painful tasks, to be surroimded with a prestige 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 161 

and a respectability that are interested in the triumph of principles and not of 
persons, and that meanwhile the person should be sought who is most fit, in the 
opinion of the nation, to take his place when his term shall be ended. 

Such are the convictions of the undersigned, which, with the frankness that 
characterizes him, he has the honor to make known to you, in responding to 
the appeal which you have been pleased to address to him. 

I assure you of my respectful consideration and particular esteem. 
God, liberty, and reform. 

PEDRO OGAZON. 
IGNACIO L. VALLARTA, 

Secretary. 
The citizens Juan Ortiz Oareaga, M. M. Ortiz de Montellano, and 
Jose Linares, Mexico. 

Washington, November 28, 1861. 

A true copy. 

ROMERO. 



Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward. 
[Confidential.] 

Washington, December 21, 1861. 

My Dear Sir : I have the honor to send you herewith a copy of the trans- 
lation I read you in our interview of this morning of some remarks in regard to 
Mexico contained in the addresses delivered by the presidents of the congress 
and senate of the Spanish cortes, in reply to the queen's speech on the opening 
of the cortes. 

I am, SU-, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 

M. ROMERO. 
Hon. William H. Seward, Sfc., S^., Sfc. 



Extract from an address of Senor Martinez de la Rosa to Queen Isabella in 
behalf of the Spa7iish congress, delivered on the 19 t/i of November last. 

Making a parallel between the present Isabella and Isabella the I of Spain, 
Senor Martinez de la Rosa proceeds as follows : 

" In those days, as in the present, the weight of Spain in the political scale 
of Europe was increased. The Spanish soldiers were crowned with abundant 
laurels on the African coast, and they are preparing theniselves, if necessary, to 
hoist again in Mexico the standard of Heruan Oortes. What morel Even the 
first island discovered by Columbus has just now returned to the bosom of the 
mother country." 

The following is an extract from the remai-ks of the president of the Spanish 
senate, the Marquis del Duero, in reply to the addi'ess of Queen Isabella on the 
opening of the Spanish cortes : 

" The senate has learned with satisfaction that your Majesty is disposed to 
give an example of wholesome energy and a testimony of a noble generosity, 
inviting also France and England, who equally have cause to complain of the 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 H 



162 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



outrages of the Mexicans, to follow our example, and to associate with us in 
order to obtain the satisfaction we have the right to exact, and to cause that 
people, Avorthy of a better fate, to feel, through the power of arms, the necessity 
of having a government really in harmony with the requh-ements of so rich a 
country." 



Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward. 



[Translation.] 

Mexican Legation to the United States, 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 

Mr. Secretary : I have the honor to remit* enclosed copies, mentioned in 
the adjoined index of the documents which I yesterday received from the Mexi- 
can government, which show the condition the republic was in at the close of 
December last past by reason of the Spanish invasion, to which I refen-ed at 
our interview this morning. 

I gladly avail of this occasion to reiterate to you, sir, the assurances of my 
most distinguished consideration. 

M. ROMERO. 

Hon. W. H. Seward, ^r., ^., ^. 



[Translation.] 

Index to the documents which the Mexican legation to-day transmits to the De- 
partment of State of the United States, annexed to the note of this date. 



No. 



From and to whom. 



Date. 



Mr. Rubalcara to Mr. 
Llave. 

Mr. Llave to Mr. Ru- 
balcara. 

Mr. Doblado to Mr. 
Llave. 



1861. 
Oct. 14 



Oct. 15 



Oct. 17 



Contents. 



Oct. 18 



Nov. 26 



Surrender of Vera Cruz and UUoa. 
Answer to above. 

Reply of the federal government about surrender 
of Vera Cruz and Ulloa. 

Circular to governors of States about Spanish in- 
vasion. 

Decree closing the port of Vera Cruz. 

Manifesto of the President to the nation. (For 
this manifesto see enclosure in Mr. Corwia's 
despatch No. 11, of December 24, 1861.) 

Decree abrogating the law of July 17, relating to 
suspension of the payment of the foreign bebt. 

Speech of the president on closing the session of 
congress. 

Reply of the president of the congress. 



Washington, January 24, 1862. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 163 



No. 1. 

[Translation.] 

COMMANDEE-IN-CHIEF OF THE NAVAL FORCES OF HEE CATHOLIC MAJESTY 

IN THE ANTILLES. 

Steamer Isabel la Oatolico and anchorage of 

Anton Lizardo, Becemher 14, 1861. 

SeSor Goverdanor : The long series of injuries inflicted upon the government 
of her Catholic Majesty by that of the Rej)uMic of Mexico, the repeated 
v-iolences committed upon Spanish subjects, and the blind obstinacy with which 
the government of Mexico has constantly refused to listen to the just reclama- 
tions of Spain, always presented with the moderation and decorum proper to 
so chivalrous a nation, have placed my government under the necessity of aban- 
doning all hope of obtaining by conciliatory measures a satisfactory adjustment 
of the grave differences existing between the two countries. 

The government of her Catholic Majesty resolved, however, to obtain full 
reparation for these many outrages, has ordered me to commence my operations 
by occupying the city of Vera Cruz and the Castle of San Juan de UUoa, 
which will be held as a hostage security, {prenda pretoria,) until such time as 
the government of her Majesty shall feel assured that for the future the Spanish 
nation will be treated with the consideration which is due it, and that the com- 
pacts which have been celebrated between both governments shall be religiously 
observed. 

You will communicate with me through the consul of France, charged with 
representing the commercial interests of Spain, within the term of twenty -four 
hours, reckoned from the moment you receive this intimation, whether you are 
disposed or not to surrender to me the city of Vera Cruz and the castle, with 
the understanding that if your reply is negative, or if at the expiration of the 
time fixed I have not received any reply, from that moment you may consider 
hostilities as commenced, to Avhich end the Spanish force will be disembarked. 

It is nay duty to inform you that although I make this demand only in the 
name of Spain, according to the instructions which I have received, the occu- 
pation of this city and of the castle will serve equally as a guarantee for the 
rights and reclamations against the government of Mexico which the govern- 
ments of France and Great Britain have to make good. 

It remains for me to make known to you that the mission of the Spanish 
forces does not in any way interfere with the internal political questions of the 
country. All opinions will be respected, no censurable act will be committed, 
and from the moment that our troops occupy Vera Cruz, the Spanish chiefs Avill 
respond for the security of the persons and property of its inhabitants, what- 
ever may be their nationality. 

To you and to the other JMexican authorities it belongs to afford protection 
to foreigners until that occupation shall be carrier! into effect, whether it be 
pacifically or by force of arms. If Spanish subjects, or other foreigners, should 
be persecuted or outraged, the forces which compose this expedition will find 
themselves under the severe but unavoidable necessity of recurring to reprisals. 

I entertain the hope that whatever may ])e your resolution, you will act with 
that discn;tion which is to be expected, and, penetrated with the conviction that 
the Spanish forces, always human(>, always noble and loyal, even Avith their 
enemies, v/ill not take the first step in the path of violences, reprehensible even 
in case of war; will avoid all species of crimes Avhose sole result would be to 
ni;ike more difficult, if not inipo;-,jible, ihe arrangement of the pending interna- 



164 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

tional questions. I avail myself of this opportunity to offer t,o you the assu- 
rances of my consideration, 

JUAN GUTIERREZ DE RUBALCARA. 

The Governor of the State of Vera Cruz, (^c, ^. 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 
True copy. 

ROMERO. 



No. 2. 

[Translation.] 

MEXICAN EEPUBLIC, GOVERNMENT OP THE FREE AND SOVEREIGN STATE OP 

VERA CRUZ. 

Vera Cruz, December 15, 1861. 

Sir : I am in possession of the commimication which was delivered to me by 
your commissioners at 1 p. m. on the 14th instant, and beg to inform you that 
while I have made myself acquainted with its contents, and forwarded a copy 
to the commander-in-chief of the eastern forces, I have sent the same by express 
to the chief magistrate of the nation. As you inform me that it is your deter- 
mination, after the expiration of twenty -four hours, to attack this city and the 
fort of Ulloa, and that in demanding their surrender, in virtue of your mission, 
you are merely desirous of holding them as hostages, I shall retire with the 
government under my charge to an adjacent point, not only with a view to pre- 
serving order, but to transmit to you the reply of my government, on which I 
depend. 

The recommendation which you have made relative to the respect due to for- 
eigners was unnecessary, as in this republic those belonging to other nations are 
so much respected and enjoy so many advantages that I can assure you the 
condition of a Mexican citizen is disadvantageous as compared with that of a 
foreigner. As a proof of what I state, I may cite the testimony of many honor- 
able foreigners who live amongst us, and, above all, the conduct observed by the 
Mexicans under present circumstances. 

The news of the war which Spain has brought upon Mexico has for some 
days been known among us ; and notwithstanding this, and the indignation 
excited by the injurious articles contained in several of the newspapers of the 
peninsula, the Spaniards have been respected, and not only have they not in any 
way been injured, but they have not even in the slightest degree been insulted. 
Badly disposed persons, and perhaps even degenerate Mexicans, have given 
sinister information to European governments ; but the truth is what I have 
stated, and the time may perhaps come when you will see this and judge for 
yourself. 

Whatever may be the lot that awaits this city, I have to inform you that, by 
order of the federal government, the town council will remain, with a force of 
police and some neutral foreigners — the latter armed, at my request, with the 
sole object of preserving order up to the last moment. 

As the object of the above-named corj)oration and the forces belonging thereto 
is merely as indicated above, I trust in your gentlemanly character and the good 
discipline of your subordinates to respect the said body and the above-mentioned 
forces. 

In conclusion, I have to inform you that it is much to be regretted that 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 165 

nations wlio, on account of their origin and identity, as well in language as in 
customs, ought to remain united and on intimate terms of friendship, should 
to-daj, for groundless reasons, in my opinion, find themselves on the point of 
opposing each other, and commencing a struggle the end of which cannot well 
be seen. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to offer you my most distinguished con- 
sideration. 

Liberty and reform. 

IGNACIO DE LA LLAVE. 

The Commander of Tier Catholic Majesty's forces 

in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 
True copy. 

ROMEEO. 



No. 3. 

[Translation.] 

SECRETART OF STATE AND DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND GOV- 
ERNMENT. 

Mexico, December 17, 1861. 

The citizen president, to whom I have given account of the communication 
directed to you by the commander of the Spanish naval forces, and of that 
which you sent to that chief in reply, has ordered me to say to you to follow 
punctually the instructions which have been given by him beforehand for the 
case, which has now arrived, of the open commencement of hostilities on the 
part of the subjects of Spain, and that it is to be now left to the military action 
of General Uraga, who commands in chief the Mexican army, to proceed in his 
sphere in conformity with the provisions that have been made. 

Far will it be from the government of the republic to direct itself to a chief 
who, throwing aside all the formalities of the rights of peoples, commences by 
demanding the delivery of a city. The cry of war that the whole nation has 
spontaneously uttered marks out to the government the path which it should 
follow ; and it will not be the citizen president who will recede before a foreign 
invasion, and with all the more reason when in this case Mexico does no more 
than repel force by force, using its most unquestionable natural right. 

I enclose to you, by superior order, a copy of the decree and circular which 
have to-day been remitted by extraordinary express to the governors of the States, 
recommending to you to second, with all the energy and activity demanded by 
the circumstances, the plans of the government, by the faithful execution of 
which the president does not doubt the invasion which threatens to destroy our 
liberties and our independence will be effectually repelled. 

Liberty and refoim. 

DOBLADO. 

The citizen Governor of the State of Vera Cruz. 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 
True copy. 

ROMERO. 



166 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 4. 

[Translation.] 

SECRETAKY OF STATE AND DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN RELATIONS AND OF 

GOVERNMENT. 

Mexico, December 17, 1861. 

By order of the citizen president, I have the satisfaction of remitting to you 
copies of the communications exchanged between the commander of the Spanish 
forces at Vera Cruz and the citizen governor of that State, as well as of the 
decree and manifesto which the supreme magistrate has thought proper to-day 
to issue, in order that the States should arouse to the defence of our independ- 
ence. 

After having exhausted all means of a pacific settlement between Spain and 
Mexico, the government of the republic, strong in the consciousness of right, 
and feeling all the impulse of the popular opinion pronounced for war, accepts 
that which has been initiated by the Spanish forces in a mode so unheard of, 
because its right is unquestionable to repel force by force ; and it protests before 
the civilized world that the responsibility of all succeeding acts will fall solely 
upon the government of the Queen of Spain, who so inconsiderately has espoused 
the unjust charges with which the enemies of the liberty of Mexico have sought 
to speculate. 

Notwithstanding oin- intestine divisions, the sentiment of independence and 
the hatred of the ancient rulers of our county, is still preserved alive, although 
the latter is lessened by the effect of education and the civilization of the age. 
The citizen president, in raising aloft the flag of Mexican nationality, does no 
more than follow the torrent of public opinion ; and he has the pleasvire of seeing 
grouped around him, on the day of national conflict, the greater part of those 
Mexicans who, from differences of political opinions, remained disunited, who 
have now abandoned their revolutionary flags at the first call of the country. 

Although the government has the full right to expel from the territory of the 
republic all Spaniards resident within it, it has refrained from doing so for the 
present, because it believes that acknowledging the generosity with which they 
are treated they will strictly observe that neutrality which their position requires. 
The president has thus given another proof of the consideration which he has 
always exercised in the conduct of his foreign relations, proving by indisputable 
acts that it is not his fault that those relations should have reached the unfortu- 
nate state in which they are now found. 

The president, therefore, hopes that giving prompt and exact compliance to 
the decree of which mention was made at the beginning of this circular, you 
will place in march within the shortest possible time the contingent of anned 
force which is therein assigned, and that you will, beside, make use of all the 
ofiicial means within your power, as governor, to place the State Avhich is under 
your worthy command in the attitude of preparation which is demanded by the 
nature of the circumstances, exciting by every means in your power the patriot- 
ism of all of its inhabitants that they join for the common defence; and if the 
unfortunate case arrives that the enemy penetrates into the interior, that all the 
inhabitants of the country rise en masse, and oppose with their swords and their 
constancy an impregnable wall to the presumption of our invaders. 

Be the memory of Hidalgo, and of Morales, and of Guerrero, the model of 
the Mexicans, and the standard borne aloft in the ranks of our army in the hour 
of the combat. Long live our independence ! Long live the republic, liberty 
and reform. DOBLADO. 

The citizen Governor of the State of . 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 
Ti-ue copy. ROMEEO 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



167 



No. 5. 
[Translation.] 



The constitutional president of tlie 
tlie folio wing decree: 



republic has been pleased to direct to me 



Benito Juarez, constitutional president of the Mexican republic, to the inhab- 
itants of the same maketh known : 

That Spanif^h forces having occupied the port of Vera Cruz, and by the same 
act hostilities having been opened between the republic and Spain, in use of the 
ample faculties with which I am invested, I have thought proper to decree the 
following : 

Article 1. The port of Vera Cruz is closed from the 14th instant to the 
foreign and coasting trade. 

Art. 2. AU Mexicans who shall join the S|Janiards with arms in their hands, 
or that in whatsoever manner shall favor their cause, are herebj declared traitors 
to their country, and shall be punished as such. 

Art. 3. The time conceded to the reactionists by the law of amnesty of the 
2d of the present month to take advantage of the indulgence offered by the 
government is extended for fifteen days more, and is made applicable to all 
Mexicans except those who, in the judgment of the government, are not open 
to receive it, to which end an examination shall be made in each particular case. 

Art. 4. The governors of the States are authorized to dispose of the revenues 
belonging to the general government within their respective States, to the end 
that with the utmost possible expedition may be put in march the contingent 
of armed force assigned in this decree. 

Art. 5. The contingent of the States is that which follows : 



States. 


No. of men. 


States. 


No. of men. 


Federal district 


3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
3,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,000 


Guerrero 


2, 000 


Oaxaca 


Yucatan 


2, 000 


Guanajuato 


Tabasco 


2, 000 


Jalisco 


Aguas Calientes 

Queretario 


1, 000 


Zacatecas 


1, 000 


San Luis Potosi 


Colima 


1, 000 


Mexico 


Chiapas 


1, 000 


Michoacan 


Tlaxcala 


1, 000 


Puebla 


Baia California. 


1, 000 


Vera Cruz 


Sonora ... 


1, 000 


Nuevo Leon y Ooahuila . . 


Sinaloa 


1,000 


Total 




Dui'ango 


52, 000 


Chihuahua 











Art. 6. In addition to the placing of the contingent designated in the pre- 
ceding article at the point which will be opportunely designated by the govern- 
ment, tlie governors wi)l place under arms all the national guard Avhich they 
have disposable, providing such extraordinary measures as in their judgment 
may be necessary for the procuring of the resources required for the maintenance 
of such forces. 

Art. 7. The Spanish residents in the country will continue to live under the pro- 
tection of the laws, and will only be punished in conformity with the same when, 
abusing the generosity of the government, they shall afford aid to the invader. 



168 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Wherefore, I order that it be printed, published, cii-culated, and that it be 
duly complied with. 

Dated in the national palace of Mexico, the 17th of December, 1861. 

BENITO JUAKEZ. 
The citizen Manuel Doblado, 

Minister of Foreign Relations and of Government. 

And I communicate it to you for your compliance and the consequent ends. 
God and liberty! Mexico, December 17, 1861. 

DOBLADO. 
The citizen Governor of the State of . 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 
True copy. 

KOMERO. 



No. 6. 

[Manifesto of President Juarez. — See enclosure in Mr. Corwin's despatch 
No. 11, of December 24, 1861, page 44 of this document.] 



No. 7. 
[Translation. ] 

The constitutional president of the republic has been pleased to send tome the 
decree which follows : 

The citizen Benito Juarez, constitutional president of the United Mexican 
States, to their inhabitants : Know ye that the sovereign congress of the union 
has judged proper to decree as follows : 

Article 1. The provisions of the law of the 17th July of the present year, 
which relate to the diplomatic conventions and the debt contracted in London, 
are abolished. 

Article 2. The government will immediately put in course of payment the 
respective assignments, in conformity with the provisions and regulations ante- 
rior to said law. 

Article 3. The government wUl at once send to congress notice of the 
amounts subsisting at the time of the passage of the law, and of what has been re- 
ceived since, pertaining to those assignments, initiating the laws which it may 
deem necessary to make good such amounts to the creditors under the conven- 
tions and of the debt contracted in London, and to supply the treasury with the 
amount that may be wanted for this purpose. 

Given in the chamber of sessions of the congress of the union in Mexico 
the 23d of November, 1861. 

MANUEL DUBLAN, Delegate, President. 
JUAN N. GUZMAN, Delegate, Secretary. 
ANSELMO CANO, Delegate, Secretary. 

Palace of the Federal Government in Mexico, 

November 26, 1861. 

Therefore, I order that this be printed, published, and circulated, and be duly 
executed. 

BENITO JUAREZ. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 169 

Mexico, November 26, 1861. 

And I enclose it to you for your directions and due consequences. 
God, liberty, and reform. 

GONZALES. 
To Citizen Jose Gonzales Echeverrias, 

Minister of Finance and Puhlic Credit. 



No. 8. 
[Translation.] 

Speech of the president of the republic at the closing of the sessions of con- 
gress, December 15, 1861. 

Citizen Deputies : You are about to suspend your legislative functions in 
tbe midst of the most difficult circumstances whicb have surrounded Mexico 
since lier independence. Your final resolutions have risen, however, to the grave 
necessities of the moment, since on retiring you have conceded to the executive 
all the faculties which are necessary to confront the perils which threaten us. • 

The government, which sees in these extraordinary faculties an immense in- 
crease of responsibility, and which will exercise them only in the name of the 
national representation, without other title than the imperious emergency of the 
circumstances, nor other object than the salvation of the republic, feels equal 
timidity in accepting them, and desires to return them to the sovereign power 
from whence they are derived. 

The supreme emergency of the present moment does not weaken the hope 
which the government has manifested on another occasion, and which it still en- 
tertains, of averting the perils which threaten our nationality, and of re-estab- 
lishing peace under the protection of law and of liberty. 

In this work, so difficult, the government has as guarantees of its success the 
patriotism of the Mexicans and the spirit of reason and of equity, which must 
prevail among the other nations. The Mexican government remains faithful to 
its sentiments of peace and of good feeling toward other people, and of loyalty 
and moderation toward their representatives, and it hopes to be able to procure 
that the European governments, whose judg-ment has been deceived by the ene- 
mies of our liberty, with reference to the situation of the republic, will come to 
see in what they allege as injuries only one of the inevitable consequences 
of a revolution highly humanitarian in its character, which the country com- 
menced eight years ago, and which has already begun to realize its promises, 
not only to Mexicans, but also for foreigners themselves. 

These can easily comprehend that a revolution of reform, which in its pro- 
gress has wounded more or less, though occasionally, some interests, will, in the 
end, place upon a solid basis all that is most desirable in point of moral and ma- 
terial order, for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the nation, and they will 
acknowledge that it has already substituted religious liberty, freedom of com- 
merce, and fraternity with the emigrants from other countries, for the system of 
suspicion and of exclusiveness which, until recently, has dominated the interior 
and foreign policy of the republic. 

Other people cannot overlook, except momentarily, the interest which they 
have in aiding us with their sympathy in consolidating a revolution, the fruits 
of which they will enjoy as well as ourselves. 

For this it is tliat the government hopes, in the war with which the republi*. 
is threatened, that the voice of reason, of justice, and of equity, will still be 
heard, and that rather than by the power of arms, the peril will be allayed by a 
iust and equitable arrangement, compatible with the honor and the dignity of 



170 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

tlie nation. Bnt if it shall not be so, if it results that our hopes are frustrated 
the government Avill employ all the energy which love of country and a con- 
sciousness of right can inspire, to stimulate the people to defend their revolu- 
tion and their independence, having, as the guarantees of our success, the jus- 
tice of our cause and the patriotism which, among all the citizens of the republic, 
has been aroused by the sole announcement that the independence of our coun- 
try might be in peril. 

The government will do its duty, and if, as it does not doubt, Mexico, by a 
supreme effort of her sons, is preserved through a foreign war, and has the hap- 
piness to see peace again re-established, congress, at its next session, will come 
together to take advantage of this position, and by dictating wise laws will con- 
solidate, and finally establish, our independence, liberty, and reform. 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 
True copy. 

EOMEEO. 



No. 9. 

[Translation.] 

Reply of the president of congress. 

Citizen President : Progress is a law of humanity ; but this, to develop 
itself, has required among all people these terrible crises which are called revo- 
lutions. History teaches us that all nations, to reach reform and true civiliza- 
tion, have had to pass through terrible proofs and to suffer unhappy sacrifices, 
and it has been often seen that the most powerful peoples have touched upon the 
border of ruin, but have saved themselves, notwithstanding, by the faith and by 
the union of their sons. 

Mexico passes at this moment through one of these difficult situations, because 
the upturning which it has been necessary to have felt throughout its society to 
establish the reform and secure the regeneration of the country, has given rise 
to immense difficulties, as well in the interior as in the exterior relations of the 
republic. The congress of the union has comprehended this state of things, and 
its labors have demonstrated that its attention has been divided between -the civil 
struggle which has devoured us and the foreign war which threatens us, and it 
has issued laws which tend to terminate in so far as possible the fonner, and 
which will impede or prepare the nation for the latter. 

A law has been passed protecting the citizens in the enjoyment of the guar- 
antees conceded to them by the fundamental code. This law, the fruit of long 
discussions, is, so to speak, the complement of the constitution, which assures 
the rights of the man and of the citizen, and opens the tribunal to the complaints 
of those who shall feel injured in their rights by any of the authorities of the 
federation or of the States. Without this law these guarantees Avould not really 
exfst, but only be promised, because there existed neither the mode nor the tri- 
bunal which should repair in private cases the abuse of power to the prejudice 
of the individual, which latter only saw a remote and improbable indemnification 
for injuries occasioned by the agent of powers which had no judge. 

Postal and extradition treaties celebrated with the United States have been 
ratified. Eespecting the principles which for a long time have constituted a 
phase of the civilization of Mexico, it has been expressly stipulated that neither 
those responsible for political offences, nor slaves, shall ever be the object of 
extradition. Thus, by an international compact with the United States will 
remain sanctioned forever the liberty of the slave by the fact of touching the 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 171 

Mexican ten-itoiy, and forgetfnlness for tliose who, for political errors, shall fly 
to the neighboring nation, pursued hj the remorse of having co-operated toward 
the misfortunes of their country. 

At the preceding period of sessions, and by the initiation of the executive, 
congress decreed the law of 17th July, which, among other provisions, suspended 
the payment of the diplomatic conventions. The members of the cabinet hoped, 
and thus intimated to the house, that this law would not produce any conflict 
with those powers whose payments were to be suspended ; and as much for this 
reason as from the right of self-preservation — for that period was a terrible one 
for the country — the suspension of all payments for two years was decreed, in- 
cluding those of the conventions. But our diplomatic relations suffered from 
this law, which was resented by them, and the executive presented to the house, 
as a solution of the difficulties with England, the treaty arranged ' between the 
goverumcnt of Mexico and the minister plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty. 

The stipulations of this treaty appeared to the house injurious to the nation, 
in that it recognized and covered Avith the British flag, besides the English con- 
vention, the debt contracted in London in 1823, and the payment of the sum 
taken by the so-called government of Miramon from the house No. 1, Oalle de 
Capuchinas. 

For the payment of all these credits a very large part of the revenues of its 
custom-houses was to be sacrificed, and at the same time the tariff of duties low- 
^ed and all existing prohibitions removed. 

The question as to figures, however, would have been nothing, notwith- 
standing its great importance, if this treaty had not also contained stipula- 
tions humiliating to the dignity of the republic. The national bonds which 
were to be emitted in virtue of this treaty were required, for their validity, to 
bear at the side of the signature of our minister of treasury the signature of the 
agent of our creditors. By such condition the paper which v/as to be emitted, 
as it was to be received on account of duties, would have a real monetary repre- 
sentation, and be without value if it lacked the signature of the agent of the 
creditors. 

No nation of the world would have accepted such a humiliation, and Ivlexico 
consenting to it would, so to speak, have consented to stamp its money with the 
arms of Eugland. 

The administrators and employers were also to be subject to an affective 
tutelage, exercised by the consular agents and by the attorneys or agents of the 
English creditors, who could ask for their revision all the books and documents 
of the custom-houses. 

The congress saw, in all this, intervention; it saw, in all, reproach and dis- 
honor for the republic. The sovereignty of a nation cannot be preserved from 
the moment that it has not an absolute independence in the most unimportant 
of its acts, because, although the individual in society may be free and yet de- 
pend upon an authority and have a judge, a nation can depend upon no one, and 
can have no other judge of its action; but Providence. 

Congress, at the same time, desires peace ; it desires it in the name of the 
republic ; it desires it at all costs and with whatever sacrifice ; but never at the 
sacrifice of the national honor, nor of the sovereignty and independence of j\Iex- 
ico. The honor of Mexico Avas compromised in a shameful manner in this treaty, 
and congress rejected it witliout hesitation. 

But, as a proof of the morality of the nation always desirous of complying 
with its compromises, and that it was not interest which movcjd the national 
representation to reject the treaty, the law of the 17th of July which suspended 
the payment of the diplomatic conventions was repealed in this part on the day 
following the rejection of the treaty, and provision made for the payuKsnt of the 
dividends whicli would have been satisfied during the time for which the sus- 
pension had continued under the law. 



172 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

War, liowever, appeaa-s certain ; Spain liastened with a squadron, tlie minister 
of tlie Emperor of the Frencli asks Lis passports and retires ; and the threat of 
a league between France, Spain, and Enghxnd against Mexico is presented in 
the horizon as a tempest. 

In these solemn moments the house believed that it was necessary that the 
republic should prepare for the combat ; Mexico is not a feeble and infirm nation, 
as it has been sought to paint her in the eyes of European nations ; and if the 
bloody struggles of long civil war have deprived her of part of her strength, the 
union of all her sons will present her again powerful. Born of this conviction, 
the law of amnesty comes to procure the union of all Mexicans, with forgetful- 
ness for all political offences. 

The defence of the country is the glorious opportunity which Providence has 
prepared for those who were still combatting with arms in the hand against the 
legitimately constituted government to cease this useless strife and come to group 
themselves for the commencement of a national struggle at the side of the flag 
which our fathers left to us in giving us independence. 

Mexico has had political parties whose profound divisions have enveloped the 
republic in blood ; but Mexico has not had, nor will there ever be found, traitors 
who will join the ranks of the enemies of the country. 

By a decree congress, before closing its session, has avithorized the executive 
in the most ample manner to dictate all measures that it may deem necessary, 
under the present circumstances, to confront the situation, saving only the 
national independence and integrity of territory, and the principles of the con- 
stitution and of the reform. 

By this the greatest proof of confidence which a legislative assembly of the 
country has ever given to the depository of the executive power, the congress 
confides to this power the salvation of the republic, because it is convinced that 
in moments so supreme, energy and efficiency depend almost always upon unity 
of action ; and this idea is found also in our fundamental code, in the part which 
authorizes congress to concede to the executive extraordinary faculties. 

Incalculable is the weight which will rest upon the shoulders of the executive ; 
terrible is the responsibility which, from this day forward, he is about to assume 
upon himself alone ; but, also, immense are the resources which are placed at 
his disposal, and unlimited the facilities which have been given to him. 

The sole consideration of the necessity of saving the country decided congress 
to take this step. Upon the executive it now depends, and upon no other, to 
save the republic, or precipitate it in the abyss. 

The national assembly suspends to-day its legislative labors ; but it will re- 
main always on the watch, as the sentinel of the public liberties, and ready to 
return to meet again at the moment when its presence shall be in any manner 
necessary for the good of the country. It will then receive from the executive 
an account of this power which to-day it delivers into its hands with so blind a 
confidence. 

If the foreign qixestion is not settled pacifically ; if a scene of war is to be 
spread out over our country we will enter into the combat, and the justice of 
our cause and the love of our country will present more or less near, but always 
true and beautiful, a future for Mexico. God preserve the republic. 

Washington, January 24, 1862. 

True copy. 

KOMERO 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 173 



Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward. 

Mexican Legation in the United States of America, 

Washington, February 16, 1862. 

Mr. Secretary : Recentlj I have received tliree important dociTments which 
confirm the fears which I have made known to you through various notes and 
in various interviews with respect to the real designs of the powers who signed 
the treaty of London. 

The first of these documents contains the instructions which the minister of 
foreign affairs of France gave to Rear Admiral Jurien de la Graviere, on the 
11th of November last, a short time prior to the departure of the French con- 
tingent for the Mexican waters, and which have been recently published among 
the documents transmitted to the legislative body by the government of the 
Emperor. In these instructions, which were written almost at the same time 
that the treaty of Loudon was being ratified in Paris, the latter was found to be 
insufiicient ; and in order to remedy this defect, express authority is granted to 
the commander of the French forces, when the coasts of Mexico shall have 
been occupied, to penetrate into the interior of the country and proceed to the 
capital of the republic. Mr. de Thouvenel furthermore takes upon himself to 
examine a hypothesis which presents itself to his foresight. "It may happen," 
he says, " tlaat the presence of the allied forces upon the territory of Mexico 
may determine the sane portion of the people who is tired of the anarchy, anx- 
ious for order and repose, to make an effort to constitute in the country a gov- 
ernment which may present the guarantees of strength and stability which have 
been wanting to all those which have succeeded each other in it since its inde- 
pendence." 

Mr. de Thouvenel speaks of the interest Avhich the allies have in carrying 
out the change which he has had the shrewdness to foresee, and contiiuies by 
sa}dug : "This interest must induce them not to discourage the attempts of the 
nature which have just been indicated, and you (Rear Admiral de la Graviere) 
should not refuse them your encouragement and your moral support, if, from the 
standing of the men who should initiate them, and from the sympathy they 
should meet with among the mass of the people, they should offer chances of 
success for the establishment of a state of affairs of such a nature as to insure 
to the interests of foreign residents the protection and the guarantees of which 
they have been deprived up to this time." These instructions are so explicit 
that it is entirely useless to add a single word more to arrive at the purpose 
with which they have been dictated, and the end to which they tend. Can 
there be conceived a more direct appeal to rebellion? 

The second document is a proclamation which Rear Admiral de la Gra^dere, is- 
sued in compliance with said instructions, on the 23d of November last, at the bay 
of Teneriffe, and the third a manifesto signed at Vera Cruz on the 10th of January 
last past by the plenipotentiaries of the allied powers and the chiefs of the naval 
forces. In the latter we are assured that the allies have gone to that country 
in order to assist the Mexican people to establish a good government, and in the 
foiiner enough is said to learn the wishes of France with regard to the said 
republic. 

I have the honor to transmit you a copy of each of the documents referred to in 
this note, in case they should not previously, through another channel, have 
come to the knowledge of the government of the United States. 

I avail myself with pleasure of this opportunity to renew to you, sir, the as- 
surances of my very distinguished consideration. 

M. ROMERO 
Hon. William H. Seward, ^t., <^., i^c. 



174 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Mr. Tliouvenel to Rear Admiral la Graviere. 
[Translation ] 

Paris, November 11, 1861. 

Admiral: The Emperor having called you to the command of the military- 
forces which will be employed in obtaining from Mexico* reparation for all our 
grievances, I have to make known to yon in what manner you will have to act 
to fulfil his instructions. 

The expedition which you are charged to direct has for its object to compel 
Mexico to perfonn obligations already solemnly entered into, and to give us 
guarantees of protection more efficacious for the persons and jDroperty of our 
citizens. The circumstances which have led us to resort to measures of coercion 
to attain this double object, imposed at the same time upon Great Britain and 
Spain to seek, through the use of rigorous measures, the satisfaction which 
grievances similar to our own demanded. It was natural that in this situation 
the three governments should think of combining their action against Mexico; 
and the understanding which was readily established between them upon this 
subject has resulted in the conclusion of a convention, signed at London on the 
31st of October, and of which I have the honor to communicate to you the text 
herewith, in order that you may be guided in your conduct by the spirit of its 
several provisions. The three governments pledge themselves, as you w^[\ see, 
to prosecute in common and to the same ends the operations which it may be 
expedient to carry into effect. You will, therefore, have to concert them with 
the commanders-in-chief of the forces Avhich Great Britain and Spain intend shall 
take part in them. It is from the co-operation of these several forces united 
that the three powers expect the result which they have deemed indispensable 
to prosecute in common. They have, moreover, provided for, without deferring 
on that account to act immediately, the eventual co-operation of the United 
States, to whom information of the convention of London will be giveai, with an 
invitation to accede thereto. It belongs to the Secretary of the navy to furnish 
you with the military instructions which his department is alone competent to 
address to you ; I shall confine myself to saying to you that the intention of 
the allied powers is, as indicated by the convention of the 31st of October, that 
the combined forces proceed to the immediate occupation of the ports situated 
upon the Gulf of Mexico, after having simply summoned the local authorities 
to make sin-render thereof to them. The ports are to remain in their hands 
until the complete settlement of the difficulties to be solved, and the collection 
of custom dues will there be made in the name of the three powers, under the 
supervision of deputies appointed for that purpose. This measure Avill result 
in guaranteeing to us the payment of the sums and the several indemnities 
v\'hich are from this time, or which might subsequently be, carried to the account 
of Mexico as a claim of indemnity for the war; the question of the claims 
which each one of the allied governments will have to present requiring besides 
a special examination, there will be, by the terms of the convention, instituted 
a commission, to which will be specially assigned the duty of deciding with 
reference thereto, as also that of considering the mode of settlement AAdiich will 
best protect the respective interests. The government of her Britannic Majesty 
having appointed Sir Charles Wyke, the Queen's minister to Mexico, as a mem- 
ber of this commission, the government of the Emperor has likewise made 
choice, there to sit in his name, of its representative in Mexico, Mr. Dubois de 
Saligny. The character Math which these two agents are clothed, not less than 
the practical knowledge they possess of the affiiirs of Mexico, naturally calls 
them to take part in the negotiations which must precede the re- establishment of 
regular relations. They will have to consult s^jecially with, and also the com- 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 175 

missioner designated Iby Spain, tlie commanders-in-cMef of the allied forces, in 
order to draw np, after taking possession of the ports on the coast, the full state- 
ment of the conditions to which the Mexican government w^ill be required to 
give its assent. In order to enable you to follow up all the negotiations and 
to sign all the acts and conventions to occur, I have the honor to send you here- 
with the full powers, in virtue of which his Majesty has appointed you his 
plenipotentiary, with the same title as Mr. Dubois de Saligny. It is besides 
Avell ixnderstood that full liberty is assured you as to all that relates to military 
operations, the movements of trooj)s, the occasion and means of occupying such 
or such points of the Mexican territory ; all these questions are specially left to 
your appreciation as well as to your initiation, and reserved for your sole 
decision. 

The combined forces of the three powers having arrived upon the eastern 
shores of Mexico, you will have, as I have said, to demand the surrender into 
your hands of the ports on that coast. As a consequence of this step, tv/o 
alternatives may occur : either resistance will be made to your summons, and 
then you will only have to arrange without delay with the allied commanders 
for the seizure by main force of these ports, or else the local authorities will 
decline to offer you a material resistance, but the Mexican government will 
refuse to enter into relations with you. The last news which have reached me 
from Mexico, and which announced the probable disannament of the ports of 
Vera Cruz, would seem to cause us to foresee that such would in fact be the plan 
adopted by President Juarez. By reviving a tactic already employed by one 
of -his predecessors in the war with the United States, he would, if necessary, 
retire into the interior of the country. The allied powers could not afford to let 
themselves be kept in check by such an expedient; neither could they continue 
to occupy indefinitely points of the coast if this occupation were not to furnish 
them a means of direct and immediate action upon the Mexican government. 
The interest of our dignity and considerations derived from the climacteric ch'- 
cumstances of the coast unite in demanding a prompt and decisive result. It 
is principally in view of this contingency that a body of disembarking troops is 
placed at your disposal, Avhich, joined to the other military contingents, will 
give to the allies the means of extending the circle of their action. The govern- 
ment of the Emperor admits that, either to reach the Mexican government or to 
make more effectual the coercion upon it by the taking possession of its ports, 
you may find yourself under the necessity of combining a march into the 
interior of the country, which would lead, if necessary, the allied forces to the 
City of Mexico itself. I need scarcely add that another reason might determine 
you to do so ; this would be the necessity of providing for the security of our 
citizens in case it should be threatened at any point whatever of the Mexican 
ten-itory which could reasonably be reached. 

The allied powers do not propose to themselves, I have said to you, any other 
object than that which is indicated in the convention ; they forbid each other 
from intervening in the internal affairs of the country, and especially from exer- 
cising any pressure upon the wishes of the people as to the choice of their 
government. There are, however, certain hypotheses which present themselves 
to our foresight, an^l which it was our duty to examine. It might happen that 
the presence of the allied forces upon the soil of Mexico might induce the sane 
portion of the people, tired of anarchy, anxious for order and repose, to attempt 
an effin-t to constitute in the country a government presenting tlie guarantees of 
strength and stability which have been wanting to all those which have 
succeeded each other since the emancipation. The allied powers have a common 
interest and too manifest to see Mexico emerge from the state of social dissolu- 
tion in which it is plunged, which paralyzes every development of its prosjierity, 
sets aside for itself and for the rest of the world all the riches Avith which Provi- 
dence has endowed a favored soil, and compels them to resort periodically to 



176 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

expensive expeditions to remind ephemeral and senseless powers of the duties 
of governments. This interest must induce them not to discourage the attempts 
of the nature of those which I have just indicated to you, and you shovild not 
refuse them your encouragements and your moral support if, from the standing 
of the men who should initiate them, and from the sympathy they should meet 
with among the mass of the people, they should offer chances of success for 
the establishment of a state of affairs of such a nature as to insure to the interests 
of the foreign residents the protection and the guarantees of which they have 
been deprived up to this time. The government of the Emperor relies upon 
your prudence and your judgment to appreciate, in conjunction with the com- 
missioner of his Majesty, whose knowledge acquired by his residence in Mexico 
will be valuable to you, the events which may develop themselves under your 
eyes, and to determine the extent to which you may be called upon to take part 
therein. 

THOUVENEL. 



Rear Admiral la Graviere to Ms forces, 
[Translation.] 

On board the Massina, • 
Teneriffe Bay, November 23, 1861. 

Seamen and Soldiers : We are going to Mexico. We have not only to 
seek there — as the gallant squadron of which many among you formed a part — 
the reparation of numerous and recent grievances ; we shall have above all to 
demand, for the honor of our flag, for the security of our commerce, for the 
existence of our fellow-countrymen, guarantees more positive than those which 
are offered to us to-day. 

We bear no animosity against the Mexican people. We know what we 
should expect from that noble and generous race, if it could put an end to its 
everlasting dissensions ; but governments powerless to maintain internal peace 
will ever badly protect, whatever may be their flag, the security of foreigners. 
Our real enemy in Mexico is not this or that political faction — it is anarchy ; 
anarchy is an enemy with which it is useless to treat. 

Seamen and soldiers : In the new campaign which you are to undertake, you 
have as witness to your good right the sympathetic opinion of your country, 
the co-operation or the assent of the civilized world ; you will soon have, in 
Mexico itself, the wishes of all good men. 

Understand, therefore, the duties which this situation imposes uj)on jow. 
Give to the people the example of order and discipline ; teach them to honor the 
name of our glorious country, to envy the prosperity and the peace which we 
enjoy, and you may then repeat with just pride the words which were addressed 
to you some months since by our Emj)eror : " Wheresoever the flag of France 
shows itself, a just cause precedes it, a great people follows it." 

JURIEN DE LA GRAVIERE, 
Rear Admiral, commanding the French expeditionary forces 

in the Gulf of Mexico. 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 177 



proclamation of the allies to the Mexicans. 

Vera Cruz, January 10, 1862. 

Mexicans : The representatives of England, France, and Spain fulfil a 
sacred duty in giving you to understand their intentions from the moment that 
they trod the ground of your republic. The faith of the treaties broken by the 
various governments which have succeeded each other among you, and the indi- 
vidual security of our citizens, continually menaced, have made necessaiy and 
indispensable this expedition. 

They deceive you who would make you believe that behind our pretensions, 
as just as the}^ are legitimate, come enveloped plans of conquest and restorations, 
and of interfering in your politics and government. 

Three nations who accepted in good faith and acknowledged your independ- 
ence have the right to expect you to believe them animated by no cowardly 
intentions, but rather by others more noble, elevated, and generous. 

The three nations that we come representing, and whose first interest appears 
to be satisfaction of grievances inflicted upon them, have a higher interest, and 
one of more general and beneficial consequences ; they come to extend the hand 
of friendship to a people to whom Providence has been prodigal of all its gifts, 
and which they behold with grief wasting its forces and extinguishing its vitality 
through the violent power of civil wars and of perpetual convulsions. 

This is the truth, and those charged with the expression of it do it not with 
the voice of war and threats, but that you yourselves shall work out your own 
good fortune, in which we are all concerned. 

To you, exclusively to you, without intervention of foreigners, belongs the 
task of constituting yourselves in a permanent and stable manner. Y"our labor 
will be the labor of regeneration, which all will respect, for all will have con- 
tributed to it, some with their opinions, others with enlightenment, and all and 
every one with their conscience. The evil is great, the remedy urgent. Now 
or never can you make your prosperity. Mexicans ! listen to the voice of the 
allied powers, anchor of salvation in the destroying tempest through which you 
are rushing. Deliver yourselves up to their good faith and righteous intentions. 
Fear nothing from restless and turbulent spirits, which, should they show them- 
selves, would be cowed by your firm and decided attitude. Meanwhile we 
shall preside over impassibly the glorious spectacle of your regeneration, guaran- 
teed through order and liberty. 

So will it be understood, we are sure, by the supreme government, to which 
we address ourselves ; so will it be understood by the enlightened of the 
country, to whom we speak ; and, as good patriots, you will all agree to the 
laying down of your arms and that reason alone shall be put forward, which is 
the power that ought to triumph in this the nineteenth century. 

CHARLES LENNOX WYKE. 

HUGH DUNLOP. ^ 

E. JURIEN DE LA GRAVIERE. 

DUBOIS DE SALIGNY. 

EL CONDE DE RENS. 



H. Ex. Doc. 100 12 



178 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward. 

[Translation] 
MEXICAN LEGATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Washington, A^^ril 10, 1862. 

Mr. Secretary : I liave the lionor to enclose to yoii, for the information of 
the government of the United States, a copy of a note addressed by Seiior La 
Fuente, Mexican minister at Paris, to Monsieur de Thouvenel, under date of 
the 7th of March last, withdrawing the Mexican legation from Paris, asking his 
passports to leave France, and formally protesting, on behalf of the government 
of Mexico, against the conduct pursued by the French government in regard to 
that republic. 

This opportunity is very agreeable to me to renew to you, sir, the assurances 
of my most distinguished consideration. 

M. EOMEKO. 

Hon. William H. Seward, S^c., 8fc., ^-c. 



Paris, 3Iarck 7, 1862. 

Monsieur Le Ministre : It is not till after a long delay, and in consequence 
of the obstacles which the direct correspondence of this legation with the Mexi- 
can government has met with, that I have received the instnictions sought by 
me of the President on the subject of my rule of conduct towards the govern- 
ment of the Emperor. His excellency has not only approved of the act 
whereby I suspended diplomatic relations with the French government — rela- 
tions which itself had rendered impracticable — but has even acknowledged the 
jur-tice of my observations on the dishonor which would have accrued to the 
republic in maintaining in this country a legation compelled to listen in silence 
to insults the most atrocious and declarations the most humiliating to the gov- 
ernment and people of Mexico ; a legation which could effect nothing towards 
restoring the good understanding which had been entirely destroyed, when peace 
became impossible by the resolution formed to overthrow republican institu- 
tions in Mexico, and substitute in their stead a monarchy for the benefit of a 
foreign prince. Such a design was fully apparent before it had been confirmed 
by the ofiicial documents recently published in Paris and London. On becom- 
ing convinced of the truth of this rumor I should have at once have had the 
honor of demanding my passports of your excellency had I not been restrained 
from doing so by the laudable hope that my government still cherished of being 
able to effect a convention with Mr. de Saligny, and later by the proclamation 
issued by his excellency the president in consequence of the iniquitous invasion 
of the territory of the republic made by the Spaniards, in violation of all the 
rules of the law of nations. By this public act his excellency offered to accede 
to all reasonable propositions made by the aggressors, while he bound himself 
to resist by all possible means such as were unjust or humiliating to the repub- 
lic. This policy proved to me that, even to the last, my government left the 
way open to negotiations. It was not for me to close it by any act of mine. 

But the rule of my ofiicial conduct is now fixed, and, in conformity Avith the 
express orders of my government, I hereby declare to your excellency that I 
break up the Mexican legation in France, and the protection of the natives of 
Mexico is confided to the good ofiices of his excellency I\Ir. Galvez, minister of 
Peru at the court of the Emperor of the French. I shall, therefore, be obliged 
to you, Monsieur le Ministre, to furnish me with passports to quit France for 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 179 

myself, my second secretary, Mr. Marcelino Orozco, and the members of my 
family. 

From respect to justice and the dignity of my government I have to make a 
few remarks concerning this determination, which has been so long justified that 
it may appear rather tardy than precipitated. 

France has deemed it right to employ force against Mexico. From this time 
diplomacy has nothing to do with this question. 

Nevertheless, if it be demanded what was the cause of the commencement of 
hostilities, it may be replied that the motives openly enixnciated are neither the 
just nor the true ones, and that beyond them must be sought the prime mover 
of this rupture. 

From the beginning M. de Saligny assigned as a motive for breaking off rela- 
tions with the Mexican government the law which decided to suspend for two 
years the payment of the foreign debt. But the Mexican government did not 
deny its obligations ; it only postponed the fulfilment of them under the pres- 
sure of an imperious necessity, acknowledged by all, even by M. de Saligny, as 
is proved by his despatches addressed to your excellency. It did not have re- 
source to the suspension of payments till all the sources, ordinary and extraor- 
dinary, of the public wealth were utterly exhausted ; a fact which is also clear 
from the above despatches. It did not come, in short, to this hard extremity 
till after it had offered to its foreign creditors an arrangement which these last 
deemed satisfactory, and which was not carried into effect for the sole reason 
that obstacles were interposed by M. de Saligny in the name of the French 
creditors ; a fact which shows that he was resolved at all hazards to keep in his 
own hands the power of breaking with the Mexican government. _ 

The abrogation of this law was the sole condition imposed by M. de Saligny 
for resuming diplomatic relations with the government of the republic. It was, 
then, necessary to proceed to such extremes, and to exercise such rigor in treat- 
ing with a nation ruined by civil war? What mighty interest would France 
have in the payment by instalments of less than two hundred thousand dollars, 
the amount of her acknowledged debt? Is it thus that she has acted towards 
other nations who are very far from finding themselves in a situation so deplo- 
rable as that of Mexico ? And would it not have been preferable, more in con- 
formity with the principles of justice and equity, to allow a little breathing to 
a friendly power engaged in the work of its social regeneration, and in the ex- 
termination of brigandage, a work of profound interest alike to natives and for- 
eigners ? For what purpose could it be judged right to i-ekiudle the flame of 
the civil war, disastrous to the commerce and interests of French subjects in 
Mexico, with the view of overthrowing the government, and ruining its praise- 
worthy imdertakings ? Such animosity, from pecunijiry motives, against an 
exhausted nation, has in it something so excessive, so mmsual, that one must 
imagine other reasons in order to justify the expedition. If any credit is to be 
attached to recent official reports, what was due to French subjects, and of 
which the payment was reserved by the law of suspension, originated in the 
reparation of injuries committed against their persons and interests. 

But no one knows better than your excellency, M. le Ministre, that our debt 
to France has been paid by the government of M. Juarez, even when France 
was acknowledging M. Miramon as president of Mexico, (a situation, perhaps, 
unique in history, where the title and honor of the government arc accorded to one 
party, while the expenses are charged on another.) You know that in the midst 
of a civil war kindled by the government acknowledged by France, the consti- 
tutional president, M. Juarez, (the head of the unacknowledged government,) 
has paid the French debt with a punctuality; that even this payment Avas so 
advanced that there wanted not more than about two hundred thousand dollars 
to cancel the debt, and that, consequently, the constitutional government deserved 
some little commendation when, yielding to an iusurmoimtable and evident ne- 



180 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

cessity, it suspended payment for a time. And even if tliere were some griev- 
ances at the bottom of this debt in favor of France, it would still be undeniable, 
from the considerations above enumerated, that this suspension was no reason 
for pushing things to such extremities. But let me be allowed, also, to repre- 
sent to you, M. le Ministre, that the debt in question, comprising, according to 
conventions and posterior declarations, every kind of responsibility, even affairs 
of agiotage, it was neither loyal nor just to assign as a sole source of its iniqui- 
ties and injuries. 

May I be permitted, M. le Ministre, to express my astonishment at learning 
from you that the government of the Emperor has millions to claim from that of 
Mexico. But under what title ? On what proofs ? No one knows of them. 
No discussion can take place on this subject from want of precise data, and yet 
the war begins. My government denies having contracted with M. de Saligny, 
the verbal engagement of which that minister speaks, ou account of the forty- 
thousand dollars of the convention Penaud ; and this is not the first time that 
contradictions have arisen in the relations of M. de Saligny with the Mexican 
government. I should wish to suppose that M. de Saligny's prejudice against 
that government are not to be taken into account, and have already had the 
honor of pointing out to your excellency those prejudices which, if they show 
themselves so strongly in his correspondence with you, are brought into stiU 
bolder relief in his correspondence with the Mexican government. I am bound 
to suppose that his assertions are deemed by you worthy of credit, as are those 
of my government by me ; but it results from them that Mexico can no longer 
cultivate friendly relations with this minister, seeing that these are no longer 
possible when one of the two parties has brought against the other a charge of 
falsehood. In such a case, your excellency must know, the simple consideration 
due to the government of a friendly power demands the removal of tlie 
minister. 

Nevertheless, it is true that when it is desired to put an end to all friendly 
relations, and by a rupture and war, peaceful considerations are out of season. 
In these documents other motives are assigned for this war, based on the in- 
security of French subjects residing in Mexico, and M. de Saligny has forwarded 
a list of twenty -three outrages committed on their persons and property during 
a space of about nine months. 

One word on the subject of this list. The greater part of the crimes pointed 
out can only be imputed to reactionary bands, against whom the government are 
actively engaged in war. In the relation of these excesses, there is clearly 
wanting one essential fact, the detail of the circumstances, which might entirely 
alter the case. It is not known from what sources the minister derives his in- 
foiTuation, a fact not without importance in a question of acts committed at such 
great distances. There is not the slightest proof, the vaguest indications that 
the Mexican government has been required to afford satisfaction in cases where 
it was due, according to the law of nations, and it is not even pretended that it 
has ever refused it. There is nothing to authorize such a supposition, while the 
government has ever shown its disposition to do what is right in claims of this 
nature. 

In a difference so deplorable I will never weary in invoking the principles 
and usages which guide the international relations of all nations with regard to 
the crimes in question, althoiagh I may, perhaps, perceive that these usages have 
been cast aside in the case of Mexico. Nevertheless, it is not only a right but 
a duty to protest against the employment of force as a substitute for reason and 
justice. These last may sometimes make themselves heard even in the councils 
of governments who disregard them. At all events, they exalt the character of 
a nation which can recognize and fight for them. Thus, then, M. le Ministre, 
such rules and such usages being admitted, it is clear that in using its best ex. 
ei'tions, as the Mexican government is doing to prevent and punish such crimes^ 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 181 

no government incurs the responsibility of tliem or loses in reputation hj tliem, 
nor can the weight of war be cast upon it on account of them. With what 
justice can a government be accused of violating the laws of humanity when 
the nation over which it rules, being distracted by civil war, certain misdeeds 
are perpetrated within its territory against the security of natives and foreigners 1 
Assuredly the Italian government was not subjected to such harsh qualifications, 
nor to such hostile proceedings on account of the barbarous and cruel brigandage 
of Naples, sustained by the reactionary faction and combatted by the govern- 
ment, as is the case in Mexico. In France, even, where the nation enjoys pro- 
found peace and where the government exercises a power which enables it to 
act as it pleases, and with all the apropos of the moment, have we not just seen 
a long series of crimes brought to light, committed by a single individual for 
eight years 1 

Furthermore, Mr. de Saligny's despatches prove that the government had 
provided with promptitude for the safety of the inhabitants of the capital, a 
subject which had before given rise to complaints. 

With regard to the attempt on the life of M. de Saligny, which is made to 
figure among the causes of the war, I have the honor to remind your excellency 
that the judicial inquiry, an account of which I remitted to you, fully explains 
the error into whiqh that minister has fallen, and shows that the fancied cries of 
" death " were in reality acclamations in favor of France, and in reprobation of 
assassins of foreigners. The groups whence these cries issued were composed 
of Mexicans and Frenchmen reciprocating friendly sentiments. Who could 
ever have imagiaed that from all this would have arisen accusations and motives 
of war? 

Really, M. le Ministre, when I call to mind the calixmnies, as atrocious as 
absui-d, that many journals in France, in England, and in Spain have permitted 
themselves to put on record against Mexicans, their society, and their government; 
when I see that in France, even in the high regions of power, my government 
is denounced as unscrupulous, and my countrymen as barbarous; when I find 
the good will and friendly cries of the latter towards France used against them 
in the bill of indictment, I cannot but entertain a conviction that national an- 
tipathies are to be found rather in Eui'ope than among the inhabitants of Mexico. 

I have two observations to make on the subject of this pretended attempt at 
assassination. From your despatches already published, it appears that you 
attach no credit to the investigation and the judicial sentence which I had the 
honor to communicate to you. Nevertheless, evidence taken before the tribunals 
is siu-ely the best mode there as elsewhere, of arriving at the truth, both in cases 
of this nature and of all appertaining to a criminal jurisdiction. The govern- 
ment could not but abide by the issue, and were bovmd to accept the verdict, 
which they have every reason to believe was a true one. 

The second remark I have to make is, that your despatches on this subject 
say: "Under other cncumstances we should have demanded also ajkll inquiry, 
and, in the event of failure, suitable reparation. In the present state of affairs, 
* * * # ^^g ^.^^ Q^iy ^^fi ^j^ig j-fj^f.^ fQ (jji those which impose lapon us the 
necessity of having recourse to the employment of harsh measures against 
Mexico." So, then, a matter which, according to your own confession, deserves 
to be inquired into — a matter, the truth of which remains to be substantiated, 
you do not hesitate to enumerate among the motives of your resentment and 
your hostilities. On this occasion, Mr. Ic Ministre, I think I give a rare instance 
of moderation by forbearing to comment on these words. 

The revolutions of Mexico are cast in the teeth of the government, Why, 
then, be silent about others still more disastrous and bloody ? Was it on account 
of the enormity of the wrongs which had given rise to them, and the greatness 
of the benefit produced when they were suppressed? »Now, I have the firm 
persuasion that few nations in the world have suffered so large an amount of 



182 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

evils as tlie Mexican from foreign domination, and few are tlie republics that 
Lave had to sustain, like ours, such cruel combats on the part of the privileged 
classes. With our revolutions we have achieved the national independence ; the 
liberty of slaves ; the destruction of our clerical military oligarchy, which mul- 
tiplied seditions and menaced incessantly the existence of the republic ; the lib- 
erty of conscience; civil man-iage; the amelioration of the civil condition of 
foreigners, who have been placed on an equality with Mexicans; civil and po- 
litical liberty ; the elevation and fraternization of races which had long been 
kept in a state of abject degradation and even in perpetual antagonism by the 
Spanish government. And, since it is a question of intervention and of import- 
ing into Mexico a foreign monarchy, it is certainly not improper to add that we 
reckon among the benefits derived from our revolutions the establishment of 
republican institutions. Mexico loves them as dearly as France can love her 
emphe, and to maintain the republic we have made and are prepared to make 
every kind of sacrifice. 

Anarchy and misgovernment, such are the gratuitous charges brought against 
Mexico, and which serve as a theme for the expedition of the allied powers. 
But these recriminations refer rather to the political intervention than to the 
avowed motive of the triple alliance, that is to say, to the demands for repara- 
tion for guarantees, since this reparation and these guarantees.might be accepted 
by the Mexican government, and the war would then be without object. But 
this language is clearly used to prevent an arrangement with the Mexican gov- 
ernment. Indeed, Mr. the Admiral Jurien de la Graviere has affiitned, if I am 
rightly informed, that it is useless to treat with anarchy. Moreover, before all 
things, the Mexican nation has taken upon itself to reply to these charges. The 
war is at an end, leaving at most on the vast territory of the republic three or 
four reactionary bands, feeble and incessantly pursued, and not even the shadow 
of that great party is seen which was said to be favorable to intervention and 
the foreign monarchy. The States of the Mexican confederation which were 
described as disagreeing with the federal government furnish a contingent larger 
than that which was required of them; the majority of the rebel chieftains have 
given in then' adhesion to the government, and are soliciting for the honor of 
fighting against the invaders of their country. Mexico has risen like one man 
to defend its liberties. 

No, Mr. le Ministre, I repeat, none of the causes assigned either explains or 
justifies the violence of aggression, and even had the law for the suspension of 
payments, which is said to have worn out the patience of France, not been passed, 
Mexico would have met with no better treatment at her hands. This is not a 
mere supposition ; it is an incontrovertible truth, demonstrated by facts anterior 
and posterior to that law. That law, indeed, was not in existence when Mr. de 
Saligny, even before being accredited to the president, permitted himself to 
begin his functions by treating the Mexican nation with a contempt of which 
there is no example on record, and personally embarrassing the action of the 
local authorities, under the pretext of protecting the sisters of charity, whom 
no one was attacking, who are not French, and with whom the French nation 
has nothing to do. This law did not exist when the same minister threatened 
the government and nation with certain ruin, if the propositions of Monsieur 
Jecker were not adhered to — a stock-jobbing affair concluded between him and 
the so-called government of Mr. Miramon. 

It was then, as I have already stated to your excellency, that Mr. de Saligny 
wrote to the minister of foreign afiairs that knowing he was protected by France, 
Mr. Jecker felt that he could attempt anything. This law was not passed when 
your excellency, in our first interview, infonned me that your government had 
come to an understanding with that of England to treat Mexico with rigor; and 
you may remember that you assigned (in explanation of these threats and of the 
agreement entered into by the two states, and of that afiah of Jecker, and other 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 183 

financial arrangements proposed by Mr. de Saligny and refused by Mexico) mo- 
tives "wliich assuredly have nothing in common with the law of nations and the 
duties of humanity, which the government of Mexico is accused of violating. 
This law was not then in existence, and your excellency opposed to my regular 
and official reception reasons which you subsequently were not able nor willing 
to sustain. 

Since the promulgation of this law your excellency has formally refused to 
listen to the explanations that I was desired by my government to offer to that of 
the Emperor, as if the moments consecrated to giving, at least, an appearance of 
justification and love of peace %ere to France an intolerable sacrifice of time. 
Since the adoption of this law the government of the United States has offered 
to that of the Emperor to pay the interest of the French debt of Mexico, and as 
that debt does not produce aay interest and was to be paid by instalments, the 
interest offered by the cabinet of Washington Avas a reasonable compensation 
for the delays in the payment of that part of the debt due, and a gratuitous 
benefit on what remains to be paid, but the government of the Emperor refused 
the arrangement. 

If this law were indeed the true cause of the rupture and of hostilities, why, 
instead of being suspended by its abrogation, were warlike preparations in- 
creased ? 

Since its abrogation an essential change has taken place in the policy of the 
alUed powers against the republic. Wrongs, satisfactions, and guarantees, are 
now secondary considerations, and the real motive is revealed. It is, in fact, a 
question of political intervention in Mexico, having for its object to force upon 
her as king a foreign prince. This revelation explains everything. The French 
government did not desire peace with Mexico. For a long time that govern- 
ment either through its head or by its agents, has not uttered a word, nor 
written a line about the republic, that was not inspired by anger and contempt, 
and this in defiance of reason and decorum. Such is the peace it left to Mexico — 
a miserable peace, and, whatever may be said to the contrary, it is Mexico and 
not France that has given reiterated proofs of an exemplery patience. The 
sympathies of France have for a long time been reserved for that ephemeral 
goveiTiment which holds sway in IMexico, which she hastened to acknowledge, 
and supported with efficacy, leaving, as a charge to the present government, the 
liabilities which, even when just, could not be imputed but to its adversaries. But 
for this protection the civil war in Mexico, with all its horrors, would not have 
been thus prolonged. Her sympathies still remain with the partisans of this 
faction in Mexico, as well as with its agents who come to Paris to conspire 
against their countiy and to press the French government to invade it, as the 
discontented Greeks did at Suze, and the French emigrants at Coblentz. 

It is evident, Mr. le Ministre, that in order to cover the political intervention 
and the importation of a foreign monarchy into Mexico, by means of the com- 
bined expedition, it is pretended that force is not to be employed, but that the 
wishes of the Mexicans are to be consulted and respected. A proclamation has 
also been issued by the allied powers, inviting the Mexicans to proceed at once 
to the work of their political regeneration. But even supposing this deference 
for public opinion to be sincere, who does not see clearly that this manifesto, 
emanating from the combined forces, is already the commencement of a political 
intervention? What has become of the respect due to the sovereignty and 
independence of nations, with tliis act calling in question and siibmitting to the 
ballot a government Avhich Mexico has chosen by the universal suffrage of her 
citizens 1 This illegal summons is not only an intermeddling in the affairs of a 
nation, but a flagrant incitement to rebellion, to which a favor, a support, is 
granted that does not lessen the offence from its being only of a moral character; 
but 1 do not hesitate to add that from assent and sympathy they must pass to 
the use of violence, since the march of the expedition on the capital is already 



184 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

decided upon, and tlie ultimatum would tlius be of such nature that it could not 
be accepted ; besides as the chiefs of the invading forces might qualify at 
pleasure the national will, it would be they who would impose upon Mexico the 
form and constitution of the government. 

We saw, in 1814, the powers allied against France protesting after the inva 
sion, that they did not interfere in the question of the national government. 
Then also petitions and official deliberations appeared, which seem to be of a 
spontaneous character, hi favor of the Bourbons, and the allies seem to yield to 
public opinion; but, your excellency knows better than I, France never suffered 
herself to be deceived by these appearances, and for her the restoration was 
still the act of the foreigner. 

Mexico would as little be persuaded of the forbearance of the allies in any 
change of her government brought about those in ^e presence of the manifesta- 
tions of a foreign force. 

It was necessary to suppress history, to disregard proofs innumerable, and 
belie daily relations, to arrive at the conclusion that the government of Mexico 
is an unscrupulous govermnent, and the country " barbarous," and yet this done 
in some of your official documents. It was necessary ; for in what other man- 
ner could the enormous outrage be justified which is about to be committed upon 
us in open violation of the great principle of non-intervention, Avhich was re- 
garded as one of the most precious conquests of the new law of nations 1 This 
law has been violated by the commencement of hostilities and the occupation of 
\ era Cruz, in the name of the three powers allied against Mexico, without any 
demands having been made on tlie government, these being reserved for a later 
period. It is not possible that a cause can be just, or wear the semblance of 
justice, when its defenders have recourse to such means. What is the reason 
of these infractions and these wrongs perpetrated deliberately and without 
necessity ? The weakness of Mexico ? But she is not so weak as was Spain 
in the time of Napoleon I. Mexico may be conquered, but she cannot be sub- 
dued, nor will she be conquered without having given proofs of the courage and 
vu-tues that are denied her. Mexico, after having shaken off the monarchical 
dominion of Spain — a dominion secular and deeply rooted ; Mexico, who would 
not have even her liberator for a king ; Mexico, in short, who has just emerged 
victorious from a servile revolution against the remnant of an oligarchy which 
was weighing on her democracy, will never accept, at any price, a foreign 
monarchy. This monarchy it will be very difficult to create ; still more difficult 
to maintain. Such an enterprise will be ruinous and terrible for us, but it ivill 
not be less so for its promoters. Mexico is weak, without doubt, in comparison 
with the powers that are invading her soil, but she possesses the consciousness 
of her outraged rights ; the patriotism which will multiply her efforts, and the 
high convictions that in acquitting herself with honor in this perilous struggle, 
it will be given to her to preserve the beautiful continent of Christopher Co- 
lumbus from the cataclysm with which it is threatened. 

I protest aloud, Mr. le Ministre, in the name of my government, that all the 
evils that shall ensue from this unjustifiable war, caused either direotly or indi- 
rectly by the action of the troops and the agents of France, will fall exclusively 
on the responsibility of its government. For the rest Mexico has nothing to 
fear, if Providence protects the rights of a people who maintain them with dignity 
I have the honor, &c., 

DE LA FUENTE. 

To his Excellency Monsieur de Thouvenel, Sfc, fyc, S^-c. 

Washington, April 10, 1862. 
A true copy. 

EOMERO. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 185 

Mr. Seward to Mr. Romero. 

Department of State, 

Waski?igton, AjJril 11, 1862. 
_ Sir : Having completed my report to the President upon the subject of Mex- 
ican aflPau-s, m compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives for 
mformation and correspondence, I find, upon examination of the papers, that 
no acknowledgment has been made of your several notes of the 30th September, 
30th October, 23d and 28th November, your confidential note of the 21st 
December, and your subsequent official communications of 24th January and 
16th February, ■^ 

As you were kind enough to place these notes in my hands in person, and to 
make them severally the subject of conversation at different times, it was not 
deemed necessary to make written acknowledgment of their receipt from time to 
time, whUst pending events seemed to promise a continuation of your valuable 
contributions to the history of Mexican complications 

I desire, now, to acknowledge my sense of the importance and interest of the 
documents you have laid before me, and which have gi-eatly elucidated the 
political embaiTassments in which your country has been involved, and in which 
the United States feel so serious a concern ; and I beg to assure you of my 
high sense of the industry, abUity, and zeal which you have displayed, not only 
in sustaining the mterests of your own government, but also in contributing so 
materially to the intelligent apprehension of those mterests by the government 
of the United States. 

I avail myself of this occasion to offer to you a renewed assurance of my hisrh 
consideration. '' ® 

^ „ ^ ,, WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 

To Senor Don Matias Romero, &c., S^v., Sfc. 



The Ministers of Spain, France, and Great Britain to Mr. Seward. 

[Translation.] 

Washington, Novemher 30, 1861. 
The undersigned, envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary of their 
Majesties the Queen of Spain, the Emperor of the French, and the Queen of the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and of Ireland, have the honor to transmit, 
herewith, to the honorable Secretary of State, the exact words [le texte] of a 
convention concluded at London on the 31st of October, between their respective 
sovereigns, with the view of obtaining through a common action the redress of theii- 
gi-ievancc3 against the republic of Mexico. As has been stipulated betAveen the 
high contracting parties, the imdersigned have received the order to invite the 
government of the United States to accede to this act; and in addressing this 
invitation to the honorable Secretary of State, they hasten to inform him that 
they are furnished with the necessary fuU powers to conclude and to sign, col- 
lectively or separately, with the plenipotentiary designated by the President of 
the United States, a similar convention. 

Nothing would be more agreeable to the governments of Spain, France, and 
Great Britain than to see tliat of the United States receive favorably their pro- 
position; and, requesting the honorable Secretary of State to be pleased to make 
known to them the decision of the President, the undersigned have the honor to 
tender to him the assurances of their very high consideration. 

GABRIEL G. TASSARA. 

HENRI MERCIER. 

LYONS. 



186 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

[Translation.] 

Legation op Spain at Washington. 
Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, his Majesty the Emperor of the French, and 
her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, being placed by the arbi- 
trary and vexatious conduct of the authorities of the republic of Mexico under 
the necessity of exacting from those authorities a more efficient protection for 
the persons and property of their subjects, as well as the performance of the 
obligations contracted towards them by the republic of Mexico, have arranged 
to conclude a convention between each other for the purpose of combining their 
common action, and, to this eifect, they have appointed as their plenipotentiaries, 
to wit : her Majesty the Queen of Spain, his excellency Mr. Don Xavier de 
Isturiz, (here follow his titles;) his Majesty the Emperor, his excellency the 
Count Flahant, (here his titles;) and her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and 
of Ireland, the very honorable John Earl Russell, (his titles follow;) who, after 
having exchanged their powers, have agreed to adopt the following articles : 

Article 1. 

Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, his Majesty the Emperor of the French, and 
her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland, bind themselves to make, 
immediately after the signing of the present convention, the necessary arrange- 
ments to send to the shores of Mexico, land and sea forces combined, the effective 
number of which shall be determined in a further exchange of communications 
between their governments, but the total of which mvist be sufficient to enable 
them to seize and occupy the various fortresses and military positions on the 
Mexican sea-coast. 

The commanders of the allied forces shall be, moreover, authorized to accom- 
plish such other operations as may on the spot be deemed most suitable for 
realizing the end specified in the preamble of the present convention, and 
especially for insuring the security of foreign residents. 

All the measures which are refeiTed to in this article shall be taken in the 
name and on account of the high contracting parties, without distinction of 
particular nationality of the forces employed in executing them. 

Article 2. 

The high contracting parties bind themselves not to seek for themselves, in 
the employment of the coercive measures foreseen by the present convention, 
any acquisition of territory, or any peculiar advantage, and not to exercise in 
the subsequent afiairs of Mexico any influence of a character to impaii* the 
right of the Mexican nation to choose and freely to constitute the form of its 
own government. 

Article 3. 

A commission composed of three commissioners, one appointed by each of the 
contracting powers, shall be established with full power to determine aU questions 
which may arise from the employment and distribution of the sums of money 
which shall be recovered from Mexico, havuig regard to the respective rights of 
the contractiag parties. 

Article 4. 

The high contracting parties desiring, moreover, that the measures which it 
is their intention to adopt may not have an exclusive character, and knowing 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 187 

that the government of the United States has on its part claims to enforce, like 
themselves, against the Mexican republic, agree that immediately after the 
sio-niuo- of the present convention, a copy of it shall be communicated to the 
government of the United States, that that government shall be invited to accede 
to it, and that, in anticipation of such accession, their respective ministers at 
Washington shall be immediately furnished with full powers to conclude and to 
sign, collectively or separately, with the plenipotentiary designated by the 
President of the United States, a similar convention, with the exception of the 
suppression of the present article, to those which they sign on this date. But, 
as the high contracting parties would expose themselves, in making any delay 
in carrying into effect articles one and two of the present convention, to fail in 
the end which they Avish to attain, they have agreed to not defer, with a view of 
obtaining the accession of the government of the United States, the commence- 
ment of the above-mentioned operations beyond the period at which their 
combined forces may be united in the vicinity of Vera Cruz. 

Article 5. 

The present convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications thereof shall be 
exchanged, at London, within the term of fifteen days. 

In testimony whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed it and have 
affixed to it the seal of their arms. 

Done at London, in triple original, on the thirty-first day of the month of 
October, m the year of oiu- Lord one thousund eight hundred and sixty-one. 

[The seals and signatures of the three plenipotentiaries follow.] 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Tassara, Mr. Mercier, and Lord Lyons. 

Department of State, 
WasJiington, December 4, 1861. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of a note which was addressed to him on the 30th day 
of November last, by Mr. Gabriel G. y Tassara, minister plenipotentiary of her 
Majesty the Queen of Spain; Mr. Henri Mercier, minister plenipotentiary of his 
Majesty the Emperor of the French; and the Lord Lyons, minister plenipoten- 
tiary of her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
Ireland. 

With that paper, the aforesaid ministers have submitted the text of a conven- 
tion which was concluded at London on the 31st of October last, between the 
sovereigns before-named, with a view of obtaining, through a common action, the 
redress of their grievances against the republic of Mexico. 

In the preamble the high contracting parties say that they have been placed, 
by the arbitrary and vexatious conduct of the authorities of the republic of 
Mexico under a necessity for exacting from those authorities a more effective 
protection for the persons and properties of their subjects, as well as the execu- 
tion of obligations contracted with them by the republic of Mexico, and have 
agreed to conclude a convention between themselves for the purpose of combin- 
ing their common action in the case. 

In the first article the high contracting parties bind themselves to make, 
immediately after the signing of the convention, the necessary arrangements to 
send to the shores of Mexico land and sea forces combined, the effective number 
of which shall be determined in a further exchange of comnumicatious between 
their governments, but the total of which must be sufficient to enable them to 



188 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

seize and occupy tlie various fortresses and military positions of the Mexican 
sea-coasts; also that the commanders of the allied forces shall be authorized to 
accomplish such other operations as may, on the spot, be deemed most suitable 
for realizing the end specified in the preamble, and especially for insuring the 
safety of foreign residents; and that all the measures which are thus to be 
carried into effect shall be taken m the name and on account of the high con- 
tracting parties Avithout distinction of the particular nationality of the forces 
employed in executing them. 

In the second article, the high contracting parties bind themselves not to seek 
for themselves, in the employment of the coercive measures foreseen by the 
present convention, any acquisition of territory, or any peculiar advantage, and 
not to exercise in the subsequent affairs of Mexico any influence of a character 
to impair the right of the Mexican nation to choose and freely to constitute the 
form of its own government. 

In the third article, the high contracting parties agree that a commission com- 
posed of three commissioners, one appointed by each of the contracting powers, 
should be established, with full power to determine all questions which 
may arise for the employment and distribution of the sums of money which 
shall be recovered from Mexico, having regard to the respective rights of the 
contracting parties. 

In the fourth article, the high contracting parties expressing the desire that 
the measures which it is their intention to adopt, may not have an exclusive 
character, and recognizing the fact that the government of the United States, 
like themselves, has claims of its own to enforce against the Mexican republic, 
agree that, immediately after the signing of the present convention, a copy of it 
shall be communicated to the government of the United States, and that this 
government shall be invited to accede to it, and that in anticipation of such ac- 
cession, their respective ministers at Washington shall be furnished with full 
powers to conclude and sign, collectively or severally, with a plenipotentiary of 
the United States, to be designated by the President, such an instrument. 

But as the high contracting parties would expose themselves in making any 
delay in carrying into effect articles one and two of the convention to failure in 
the end which they wish to attain, they have agreed to not defer, with a view 
to obtaining the accession of the United States, the commencement of the stip- 
ulated operations beyond the period at which their combined forces may be 
united in the vicinity of Vera Cruz. 

The plenipotentiaries, in their note to the undersigned, invite the United 
States to accede to the convention. The undersigned, having submitted the sub- 
ject to the President, will proceed to communicate his views thereon. 

First. As the undersigned has heretofore had the honor to inform each of 
the plenipotentiaries now addressed, the President does not feel himself at lib- 
erty to question, and he does not question, that the sovereigns represented have 
undoubted right to decide for themselves the fact whether they have sustained 
grievances, and to resort to war against Mexico for the redress thereof, and have 
a right also to levy the war severally or jointly. 

Secondly. The United States have a deep interest which, however, they are 
happy to believe is an interest held by them in common with the high contract- 
ing powers and with all other civilized states, that neither the sovereigns by 
whom the convention has been concluded shall seek or obtain any acquisition of 
territory or any advantage peculiar to itself, and not equally left open to the United 
States and every other civilized state, within the territories of Mexico, and es- 
pecially that neither one nor all of the contracting parties shall, as a result or 
consequence of the hostilities to be inaugurated under convention, exercise in the 
subsequent affairs of Slexico any influence of a character to impair the right of 
the Mexican people to choose and freely to constitute the form of its own gov- 
ernment. 

The undersigned renews on this occasion the acknowledgment heretofore 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 189 

given, that each of the high contracting parties had iufoi-med the United States 
substantially, that they recognized this interest, and he is authorized to express 
the satisfaction of the President with the terms in which that recognition is 
clearly embodied in the treaty itself. 

It is true, as the high contracting parties assume, that the United States have, on 
their part, claims to urge against Mexico. Upon due consideration, however, 
the President is of opinion that it would be inexpedient to seek satisfaction of 
their claims at this time through an act of accession to the convention. Among 
the reasons for this decision which the undersigned is authorized to assign, are, 
first, that the United States, so far as it is practicable, prefer to adhere to a tra- 
ditional policy recommended to them by the father of their country and confirmed 
by a happy experience, which forbids them from making alliances with foreign 
nations ; second, Mexico being a neighbor of the United States on this conti- 
nent, and possessing a system of government similar to our own in many of its 
important features, the United States habitually cherish a decided good will 
towards that republic, and a lively interest in its security, prosperity, and welfare. 
Animated by these sentiments, the United States do not feel inclined to resort 
to forcible remedies for their claims at the present moment, when the govern- 
ment of Mexico is deeply disturbed by factions mthin, and Avar with foreign na- 
tions. And, of course, the same sentiments render them still more disinclined to 
allied war against Mexico, than to war to be urged against her by themselves 

alone. . - a -l 

The undersigned is further authorized to state to the plenipotentiaries, tor the 
information of the sovereigns of Spain, France, and Great Britain, that the 
United States are so earnestly anxious for the safety and welfare of the republic 
of Mexico, that they have already empowered their minister residing there to 
enter into a treaty with the Mexican republic, conceding to it some material aid 
and advantages which it is hoped may enable that republic to satisfy the just 
claims and demands of the said sovereigns, and so avert the war which these 
sovereigns have agreed among each other to levy against Mexico. The sover- 
eigns need not be infoi-med that this proposal to Mexico has been made, not in 
hostility to them, but with a knowledge of the proceeding formally communicated 
to them, and with the hope that they might find, through the increased abihty 
of Mexico to result from the treaty, and her willingness to treat with them upon 
just terms, a mode of averting the hostilities which it is the object of the con- 
vention now under consideration to maugurate. What has thus far been done 
by the American mmister at Mexico, under those instructions, has not yet be- 
come known to this government, and the information is looked for with deep 
interest. 

Should these negotiations ofi'er any sufficient grounds on which to justify a 
proposition to the high contracting parties in behalf of Mexico, the undersigned 
■wall hasten to submit such a proposition to those powers. But it is to be under- 
stood, first, that Mexico shall have acceded to such a treaty; and secondly, that 
it shall be acceptable to the President and Senate of the United States. 

In the meantime the high contracting parties are informed that the President 
deems it his duty to provide that a naval force should remain in the Gulf of 
Mexico, sufficient to look after the interests of American citizens in Mexico, during 
the conflict which may arise between the high contracting parties and that repub- 
lic; and that the American minister residing in Mexico be authorized to seek such 
conference in Mexico with the belligerent parties, as may guard each of them 
against inadvertent injury to the just rights of the United States, if any such 
should be endangered. 

The undersigned having thus submitted all the views and sentiments of this 
government on this importiint subject to the high contracting parties, in a spirit 
of peace and friendship, not only towards Mexico, but towards the high contract- 
ing parties themselves", feels assured that there >vill be nothing in the watchful- 



190 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

ness ■wliicli it is thus proposed to exercise, tliat can afford any cause for anxiety 
to any of tlie parties in question. 

The undersigned has the honor to tender to the ministers of Spain, France, 
and Great Britain, the assurance of his very high consideration. 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 71] Department of State, 

Washington, August 24, 1861. 

Sir : You will receive herewith an instruction which is this day sent from this 
department to Thomas Corwin, esq., the minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States residing in Mexico. The paper sulficieiitly explains itself. You will 
avail yourself of an early occasion to bring the subject therein presented to the 
attention of the British government, and ascertain whether it will consent to 
forbear hostilities against Mexico, so far as they may be dependent on the fail- 
ure of the government of that country to pay the interest on the debts mentioned 
in the instruction, upon the condition and for the term therein mentioned ; and 
if you find a favorable disposition on the part of her Majesty's government in 
that respect, you may ascertain how the stipulations contemplated can be entered 
into, reserving the unavoidable conditions which the instruction specifies. 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Charles Francis Adams, Esq., S^., S^., Sfc. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract ] 



No. 44.J Legation op the United States, 

London, September 14, 1861. 
g(jj .#*»#***#* 

There is a great demand, on the part of some of the commercial classes, for 
positive action in their behalf against Mexico. The decree of the authorities of 
that country, suspending the payment of debts to foreigners, followed, as it has 
been, by the protest. and withdrawal of the representatives of France and Eng- 
land, is the pretext for a loud call upon the two governments for active inter- 
vention, involving the establishment of some pennanent system in that country 
by force of arms. 

It is proper to mention here that I have received from Mr. Corwin, at Mexico, 
a despatch, transmitting to me copies of all the official papers connected with 
the affair, and expressing great solicitude to learn the attitude about to be taken 
by the two great powers in consequence of it. I replied by return of mail, 
informing him that nothing had yet been determined on, so far as was publicly 
known, and expressing some doubts whether, in view of the practical obstacles 
in the way of a joint intervention to establish any power by common consent, 
more would be attempted than the customary plan of temporary occupation of 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 19 i 

some commerial ports, as security for the satisfaction of all pecuniary demands 

or to obtain tlie repeal of the obnoxious decree, 

********* 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

CHARLES FEANCIS ADAMS. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract.] 



Xo. 46.] Legation of the United States, 

London, September 19, 1861. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the reception of the despatch No. 71, 
dated the 24th of August, with its enclosure, which was announced in my No. 
45, of the 14th instant, sent last week, .as having failed to come in its proper 
order. It is on the subject which I had already opened in my No. 44, of the 
14th of this month. I applied at once to Lord Russell for an interview, in order 
that I might lay,the view of the government before him, but as yet I have not 
been favored with a reply. The reason doubtless is that his lordship remains in 
Scotland taking advantage of the usual vacation at this season of the year, 
though retaining the general direction of the business of the office here. So 
that all papers undergo the delay of the transmission both ways before we hear 
of the action at this point. 

The fact that a joint intervention in the domestic affairs of Mexico is contem- 
plated by the three powers of Spain, France, and Great Britain is now beyond 
a doubt. Petitions praying such action on the part of this government have 
been put into circulation at the stock exchange, and have been extensively 
signed. The cun-ent of popular opinion here, so far as it may be gathered from 
the newspapers, all runs the same way. Spain seems to be eager to accept the 
advance in the movement, encouraged by its success in the case of Dominica, 
and by the hope of profiting by the present difficulties in the United States. 
Yet, in spite of all these concurring indications, I cannot repress a doubt whether 
any practical result satisfactory to all three of the parties will be amved at. 
The establishment of a monarchy, which is the great object sought for by the 
commercial and religious interests in Mexico, can be sustained only with the 
active co-operation of a sufficient foreign military force to secure obedience. It 
will be productive of a great shock to the confidence of the other republican 
governments in America, and must inevitably press them into closer alliance. 
It will also be likely to draw them all into the political complications of this 
side of the Atlantic, by rendering counter combinations indispensible to the 
maintenance of a suitable balance of power. That all these possible conse- 
quences should have been entirely overlooked by the parties engaged in this 
crusade, and especially by Great Britain, which would seem to have loss interest 
than the other two powers in producing them, is not a little surprising. It is 
scarcely to be imagined that she who is arming hundreds of thousands of her 
population, and indefinitely expanding her naval resources from mere apprehen- 
sion of Avhat may be intended on the part of her neighbor, can be very de- 
sirous of giving her aid to fortify a combination that may ultimately be turned 
with cumulative force upon her own borders. 

Yet, in spite of all these considerations, the present indications are sufficiently 
alarming to render activity and vigilance eminently necessary on the part of all 
nations liable to be affected by this singular movement, and especially on the 



192 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

leading republican nation of the world, tlie United States. At no time since 
the adoption of the Constitution does there seem to have been a greater demand 
upon the capacities of the country in the direction of its foreign affairs than is 
now springing up in the midst of its internal difficulties. It is a source of great 
satisfaction to me to reflect that the care of them is reposed in such good hands. 

I have the honor to be, sir, jour obedient servant, 

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 
, Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Seward to Adams 



No. 94.]. Department of State, 

Washington, September 24, 1861. 

Sir : This government has learned from information which leaves no room 
for doubt, that an armed movement is being prepared by the governments of 
Great Britain and France to proceed to Vera Cruz with a view to make de- 
mands of some nature upon the government of Mexico. There is also informa- 
tion, but not entirely reliable, that the government of Spain will join in this 
movement. 

My despatch to you of the 24th day of August last will have shown you that 
this government takes so deep an interest in the permanence of the Mexican 
republic, that it is even not unwilling to render it some extremely good offices 
in its present exigencies. 

The President desires you to inform the government of Great Britain that 
this government looks with deep concern to the subject of the armed movement 
to which I have thus directed your attention, and to ask Earl Russell for such 
explanations of it as her Majesty may feel at liberty to give, with a view to the 
satisfaction of the United States and the promotion of peace in this hemisphere. 
It is confidently beheved that such explanations may not be unreasonably 
asked her in view of the intimations we have already given to our minister in 
Mexico in regard to an assumption of the payment of interest on the Mexican 
debt due to foreign bondholders. 

It is perhaps necessary to say, that owing to some accidental delay, our 
foreign mail, which must have been sent by the Europa, has not yet been 
received, and therefore our infoi-mation may be deemed very incomplete. 
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Charles Francis Adams, Esq., Sfc., Sfc., <^. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. 



[Extracts.] 

No. 50.] Legation of the United States, 

London, September 28, 1861. 

Sir : Scarcely had my despatch No. 46 been made up last Saturday to go 

to the department, when I received a note from Lord Russell in answer to my 

request for an interview. It was dated at Abergeldie Castle on the 19th of 

September, and expressed regret that he should not be able soon to be in 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 193 

London to see me. But lie added that if I Avould come up and pay Mm a visit 
in Scotland in tlie early part of tlie week, lie" should be "delighted" to see me 
there, and to confer with me touching any subject for which I desired the con- 
ference. Abergeldie is in the north of Scotland, and about five hundred miles 
by the road from London. ****** 

Accordingly I left London on Monday evening, the 23d, and by dint of trav- 
elling all night succeeded in reaching Abergeldie at about the same hour the 
next evening'. It was too late for conversation with his lordship that night, 
but on Wednesday morning, the 25th, I was favored with abundant opportunity 
for full and free conversation, the substance of which I now propose to submit 
to your consideration. 

I began by saying that I had been instructed to bring to his lordship's notice 
a matter that had excited great uneasiness in the minds of the authorities in the 
United States. I referred to the condition of Mexico, and to the rumors of 
certain movements making on the part of some of the powers of Europe in 
regard to her. The reason assigned for them was the late decree of the ruling 
party in that country, suspending the payment of interest on the debt to for- 
eigners ; but the proposed action was represented as going further than the 
practice heretofore customary in such cases, of occupation of certain ports as 
temporary security, in order to bring about some satisfactory arrangement. It 
was generally believed that it contemplated an actual intervention in the domestic 
affairs of that country, and even the imposition of a government over the 
people by the agency of an external military force. There seemed to be reason 
for supposing that Spain, at least, was preparing to transport troops and to send 
a navy with some such object. The disposition of France looked not altogether 
unfavorable to the same plan, and I had noticed in the newspapers that petitions 
were in circulation for signatures in London, and elsewhere, praying the co-oj)e- 
ration of Great Britain to that end. It was this particular feature of armed 
intervention in the domestic affairs of Mexico that excited the alarm of my 
government. Had the matter been confined to a mere attempt to secure the 
payment of a debt, I did not know that it would have led to any extraordinary 
proceeding on the part of the United States. But as it looked now, it was an 
effort to introduce a new principle of action into American affairs. It was the 
inauguration of a policy on the part of some of the powers of Europe in oppo- 
sition to which the government of the United States had committed itself forty 
years ago, and Avhich that of Great Britain had not favored then nor at any 
time since. I said I trusted I need not enlarge on the consequences to which 
such a policy might lead, to the effect it would have in implicating America in 
all the straggles of Europe, from which it had always striven to keep aloof, 
and to bring on combinations not merely between the different States of North 
and South America, but also the formation of counter alliances by them all with 
tlie other States of Europe. This must be prompted by the instinct of self 
preservation if by nothing else. For there was no telling, if such a project 
Avere executed in the case of one American State, how soon it might be repeated 
in another. And the United States might, in their present difficulties, be made 
the subject of a similar experiment. For these reasons they were anxious to 
be prepared with some plan to remove the difficulty. To that end I had been 
directed to propose to her Majesty's government to postpone action for the 
present on her part, in order that the United States might be enabled to mature 
some an-angemeut with M(!xico to provide for the payment of the interest on 
her debt, at least for a certain period, and thus remove the immediate cause of 
dissatisfaction. It was proposed to guarantee this payment by treaty, on such 
terras as might be agreed ujion with Mexico. I had reason to believe that over- 
tures had already been made by the minister of the United States in that 
country for a negotiation on that basis, which it Avas hoped might do away with 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 13 



194 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

any supposed necessity for the extraordinaiy measure presumed to be in agi- 
tation. 

His lordship heard me very patiently to the end, and then drew out of his 
pocket a despatch from Lord Lyons, giving a pretty exact report of the par- 
ticulars of the arrangement proposed by yourself in your paper of instructions 
to Mr. Corwin, a copy of which was furnished to me from the department. Of 
the conditions mentioned in it I had said nothing in my remarks, both in obedi- 
ence to your directions and because they did not seem to me to be essential to 
the argument. Neither did his lordship make any especial reference to them in 
his reply. The objection that he made was that the proposed aiTangement did 
not, by any means, meet the cause of complaint. Great Britain had much more 
to object to in the action of Mexico than the mere suspension of the interest on 
her debt. The conduct of the different parties in that country had been such 
as to render it difficult to keep any terms with the country at all. There was 
no safety to the lives or security to the property of English subjects. Some 
time since, when General Miramon was in power, a large sum belonging to 
English subjects, which had been put up to send by a conducta, had been taken 
by violence and divided among his adherents. No repayment had ever been 
made, or satisfaction given for this flagrant act of robbery, either by him or any 
one else, nor had the obligation of acknowledging the wrong been respected by 
those who came after him. The last act of suspension of the payment of 
interest on the debt was a wrong, but cumulative in its nature, and was not the 
only cause of complaint. Hence the plan of the United States, confined only to 
that one, did not seem quite co-extensive with the case. 

His lordship then proceeded to remark that there was some misconception 
prevailing in regard to the precise condition in which the matter stood at this 
moment. He read extracts from the despatches of the British envoy at Madrid, 
reporting a conversation on the subject with the Spanish prime minister, 
O'Donnell, from which it would appear that the latter had not acknowledged 
any specific form of action as determined upon by Spain, and had gone so far 
as to concede that any scheme of forcing a government upon Mexico would be 
" chimerical," and that all efforts to do so would be " open to grave objection." 
It thus appears that, as yet, there is really no agreement at all between the 
English and Spanish government on this subject; and yet more, that the 
answer of Spain, thus made, was substantially drawn out in the form of a dis- 
avowal of an intention imputed by Great Britain, which the latter was not 
disposed to countenance. Furthermore, his lordship told me that he had ex- 
pressed a desire that, before any action should be taken by either of the powers, 
the matter should be opened to the United States, and some plan, not of inter- 
vention, but of settlement, adopted with their co-operation. Of course this 
would requhe time. In this proposal France had concurred, though not without 
hesitation. Spain, on the other hand, had consented to wait, but not a greac 
while. She would go forward alone to demand indemnity, if no result was 
obtained before the end of October or the first of November. Such was the 
present state of the question; and as a proof of it he showed me a telegram 
just received from the foreign office, in London, giving the contents of the last 
despatch from Spain to that effect. I replied that the course of Spain would 
not excite miich surprise at home, for it had already been evident in the case of 
Dominica what motives stimulated her haste. The same intention to profit by 
our period of disorders was visible enough in this instance. I had little doubt 
she was meditating a restoration of her power in Mexico through the agency of 
the church and Spanish faction there. But I had been informed, from good 
aiithority, that any such scheme would only be likely to aggravate all existing 
difficulties there, instead of removing them. It would revive all old hatred and 
embitter a new contest. I trusted that I might be permitted to report to my 
government that Great Britain had had no participation in such projects, and, 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 195 

at least, tliat slie contemplated no domestic intervention. To this he replied in 
the affii-mative. I said this asstirance would be a great relief to ns in the United 
States. I had not supposed it could be otherwise. It was contrary to all my 
impressions of her system in the case of a former attempt of the same kind. 

His lordship frankly admitted that such a proceeding Avas calculated to alarm 
the United States. To use the terms of Mr. O'Donnell, that it was " open to 
grave objection," was the least that coiald be said of it. It might, indeed, be 
that the exaggerated representations of the Spanish and priest party in Mexico 
were made to Spain to induce that country to effect its restoration to power by 
the intervention of troops. But there was no reason for believing any real good 
likely to come out of it. The truth was that there was little hope of the estab- 
lishment of any siable form of government at all. Certainly the people were 
not prepared for any system like that of the United States. Hence it was that 
though intervention be admitted to be inadmissible, it yet remained to know 
what was best to be done. If Spain persisted in her intention of going forward, 
he supposed it would become necessary for Great Britain to take some action 
too. He believed that the United States had some claims likewise, which had 
been acknowledged in the treaty that had failed of ratification by the Senate. 
He sliould be very glad if any co-operation of all the powers could have the 
effect of siistaining any mode of government which the people of Mexico might 
themselves voluntarily establish. 

I said that no country was more interested in the maintenance of a solid 
organization of government in Mexico than the United States. Everything that 
could fairly and honestly be done to favor the development of the spontaneous 
will of the people of that country might, I thought, be safely promised. But 
there we should stop. Whatever might have been the tendencies heretofore, 
the designs of the present administration were really friendly. Their good 
offices would be tendered in any way that might relieve Mexico from its present 
embarrassments. Yet if there were no question of domestic intervention involved, 
I presumed that the United States would not seek to interpose objections to any 
ordinary mode of gaining redress for the commission of flagrant wrongs. 

Here the conversation ended on this subject. But the next morning, just 
before my departure, his lordship took me aside for a few minutes, to say that 
he had, in the interval, received a despatch from Lord Palmerston, in which he 
had taken the same view of the proposal of the United States that he did. That 
is, that the remedy did not cover the extent of the complaint. His lordship also 
had suggested that a counter proposition should be made to the United States. 
And he himself thought so favorably of it that he should direct a communication 
• of it to be made, by instructions, to Lord Lyons, in his next despatch. 

I said I was glad to receive the announcement, and should communicate it to 
my government. I believed that it would be ready cheerfully to entertain any 
proposition which avoided as a basis the principle of domestic intervention. And 
I understood, as the result of my interview, that no such proposition was iu 
.agitation. 

* * # # # # * 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 
Hon. Wm. H. Seward, 

Secretary/ of State, WasJiington, D. C. 



196 THE PEESENT CONDITIOX OF MEXICO. 



3Ir. Ada7ns to Mr. Seward. 

No. 54.] Legation of the United States, 

London, October 4, 1861. 

Sir : By reference to a leading article in tlie Times of tliis morning, yon will 
at once perceive the condition of tlie negotiation in regard to Mexican affairs 
between the three powers, and the direction sought to )je given to public opinion 
here on that subject. It is plain that Spain contemplates a movement in which 
Great Britain can have no sympathy. At the same time the representations 
from Mexico come worse and worse ; and the statement that au attempt had been 
made on the life of M. de Saligny, the French minister, has liad some effect in 
stiffening the attitude of the Emperor. 

In the meanwhile, I have been in the receipt of a long confidential communi- 
cation from M. Andres Oseguera, the gentleman heretofore mentioned as having 
had a conference with me, a report of which was contained hi my despatch. No. 
44, of the 14th September, substantially recapitulating the chief points of that 
conversation, but closing with a request for my good offices with Lord Russell, to 
procure for some representative of the Mexican authorities an opportunity to com- 
municate with her Majesty's government in regard to the difiiculties between the 
two countries. In consequence of this note, I called, on Monday last, to see M. 
Oseguera, and not finding him at home I asked him to call on me the next day, 
which he did. I then, in answer to his application, explained the change in my 
position, caused by the reception of .later instructions from my government, ex- 
pressed my desire to do anything in my power to pave the way to a better un- 
derstanding between the two countries to which the United States were equally 
well wishers, and then defined the extent to which I was willing to accede to 
his request. I said that in view of the Avithdrawal of the British minister in 
Mexico from his relations with the government there, I should not venture to 
propose any acknowledgment or reception of a Mexican minister here. But if 
what he desired was that I should informally try the disposition of the head of 
the foreign office, to receive and listen to any representations that might be 
made to him by a person not clothed with any formal ofiicial character, but yet 
authorized to speak on behalf of the Mexican government, I signified my readi- 
ness to go thus far. I added that from some incidental expression of surprise 
let fall by Lord Russell in my last conversation with him, that there should be 
no representative of Mexico here, whilst there was one at Paris, I inferred that 
there might be an opening for the success of siTch an application. M. Oseguera 
replied that he should feel much obliged to me if I would take the course indi- 
cated ; and he went on to mention a gentleman, heretofore the secretary of le- 
gation for Mexico at that place, Mr. Huice, as the person whom M. La Fuente, 
the minister at Paris, would empower to act for his government, if agreeable to 
his lordship. I said that Avith this understanding I would proceed to make the 
overture. 

Accordingly, the nest day, that is, on Tuesday, the 1st of this month, I called 
at the foreign office, and in the absence of Lord Russell, who is still in Scotland, 
I had an interview with Mr. Hammond, one of the under secretaries. I ex- 
plained to him my position ui the premises, being that simply of a common 
friend making an effort to open the way to an understanding between two disa- 
greeing parties. I had been asked to present the question whether Lord RusseU 
would consent to receive an informal agent of the Mexican authorities. I was 
willing to go thus far from a belief that it would be agreeable to my govern- 
ment, and not from any express authority. 

Mr. Hammond said that he would write to his lordship and communicate my 
message. He asked me if I knew how matters stood at Paris, and then men- 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 197 

tioned tlie rumor of tlie attack on M. cle Salignj, wLicIi I liave already refen-ed 
to. I said that I liad heard nothing of it, neither did I believe M. Oseguera 
could have heard of it when I last saw him. I then took my leave. 
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 99.] Department of State, 

Was7iington, October 10, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatch of September 14, No. 44, was duly received. It treats 
two subjects, one the extraordinary proceedings of her Majesty's government in 
the matter of her consul at Charleston, Mr. Bunch, the other the attitude of 
G-reat Britain and France towards Mexico. 

I shall consider only the latter subject in this paper. 

My despatch No. 71, of the 24th of August last, has informed you of our 
overtures to Mexico, and our propositions concu.rrent therewith to Great Britain 
and France for an assumption on our part of the payment of interest on the 
Mexican bonds as a condition of forbearance on the part of those states to the 
Mexican republic. 

My despatch No. 94, of the 24th ultimo, instructed you to ask explanations 
of her Majesty's government concerning the designs of the naval demonstration 
which rumor reports is about to be made by Great Britain and France against 
Mexico. 

Since those instructions were given we learn, upon what seems to be sufl&cient 
authority, that the government of Spain is meditating a demonstration against 
Mexico, but it is not certainly known whether that demonstration is to be made 
alone or in concert with the designs of Great Britain and France. Some 
explanations have been informally given on this subject by the Spanish govern- 
ment to our minister at Madrid importing that no design of conquest is enter- 
tained by Spain in this movement. I shall, however, simultaneously with 
sending this despatch, instruct Mr. Schurz to recall the subject to the attention 
of the Spanish government, with a view, if possible, to induce it to practice 
forbearance. A copy of the communication to Mr. Schurz will accompany this 
despatch, and you will inform Lord Russell that this government is deeply 
anxious for the safety, peace, and prosperity of Mexico. Consulting the spirit 
rather than the letter of my previous instructions, and considering them enlarged 
so a& to embrace the new danger with which Mexico is threatened, you will 
confer with him and ascertain whether any and what proposition that we can 
make to Spain, attended, if necessary, with a modification of our former propo- 
sition to Mexico and France and England, would receive the favorable considera- 
tion of the British government and engage its good offices to secure a forbearance 
of those three powers from hostile designs against the Mexican republic. 

The negotiation on this subject is attended with embarrassments and delays. 
We have not yet received a I'cply from Mexico to our overtures already made. 
Operations may be definitively matured on the other side of the Atlantic while 
we are considering how we can most effectually and properly engage in prevent- 
ing the necessity for them. I shall therefore expect you to consider carefully 
the whole case as you find it, and rather to propose to me what this government 
shall do than to wait for new suggestions from me in the premises. 
I am, sir, yoiu' obedient sei-vant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., Sfc, Sfc., Sfc. 



198 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No. 57.] Legation of the United States, 

London, October 11, 1861. 

Sir : I laave tlie honor to acknowledge the receipt of the instructions con- 
tained in your despatch, No. 94, dated the 24th of September, to ask explanations 
of the government here as to the contemplated movements in respect to Mexico. 
My despatch, No. 50, addressed to the department four days after the date of 
yours, must by this time have come to hand, and have furnished some idea of 
the intentions of her Majesty's ministers ; whilst the course indicated to me as 
about to be taken by Lord Russell, through the agency of Lord Lyons, will 
have brought to your notice the precise form of policy they have concluded to 
adopt. This position of things would seem to release me from the necessity of 
charging myself further with the matter, at least for the present. In the mean- 
while the answer of Lord Russell to the petition presented to him from the 
merchants is published in all the papers, and seems to be gi^Ting a new turn to 
the piiblic sentiment on the subject in London. 

In my number 54, dated the 4th instant, I gave some account of an informal 
visit paid by me on the 1st instant to the foreign office, at the solicitation of M. 
Oseguera, of the Mexican legation at Paris, to learn Avhether his lordshijD would 
receive informally an authorized agent of Mexico. I have since received an 
unofficial note from Mr. Hammond, informing me that his lordship would receive 
such a person on his return to town about the 19th of the month. In the 
meantime, however, M. Oseguera sent me a note announcing that he had been 
recalled to Paris, and apprising me that the authorized person to whom he had 
referred would soon make himself known to me. But as yet I have seen nothing 
of him. 

I have the honor to be, sir, yom- obedient servant, 

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 
[Extract.] 



No. 100.] Department of State, 

Washington, October 12, 1861. 
Sir : Your despatch of September 19, No. 46, has been duly received. I 
have already in the latest instructions sent you (No. 99, of the 10th instant) 
anticipated the subject of Mexican aifairs, and I need add nothing on that sub- 
ject, except that I have transmitted a cojDy of the last-mentioned paper to Mr. 
Dayton, and requested him to be governed by its directions. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Charles Francis Adams, Esq., §f ., &fc., Sfc. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 199 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 

No. 101.] Department of State, 

WasMngton, October 14, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatch of September 28, No. 50, has been received. 

It contains an account of your visit to Lord Russell, at his residence in 
Abergeldie castle, and your consultation with him there on the subject of the 
difficulties between Great Britain and France on the one part, and Mexico on the 
other part. The difficulties between Spain and Mexico were also treated of in 
the same conversation. The result was that a counter proposition would be 
sent to me. I do not see that a more favorable turn of this matter could have 
reasonably been expected 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 

Charles Francis Adams, <^c., S^c., 8^. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 106.] ' Department of State, 

Wasliington, October 19, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatch No. 54, written under the date of October 4, has been re- 
ceived. 

Your proceedings in behalf of Mr. Oseguera were prudent and just. I hope 
that he may be successful in averting the dangers which are impending over his 
mafortunate country. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant. 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Charles Francis Adams, Sfc, ^., S^. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Seicard. 
[Extract.] 



No. 62.] Legation of the United States, 

London, October 24, 1861. 

Sir : In my despatch. No. 57, dated the 11th of the present month, I had the 
honor to report the result of my informal application at the foreign office in be- 
lialf of a representative of the authorities of Mexico. I there stated that M. 
Oseguera, who had solicited my aid, had left London, and that the other person 
to wliom in his note to me he had referred as about to take his place, had not 
made liiniself known to me. As the day appointed for the conference, the 19th, 
drew nigh, and as Mr. Hammond's private note to me seemed to assume that M, 
La Fuente himself was to be the person to call upon Lord Russell, I determined 
to write at once to M. Oseguera, at I'aris, apprising him of this fact, and leaving 
it to M. La Fuente to determine what he should do in the premises. The effect 
was to bring M. La Fuente to London on Friday, the 18th of the month. In the 
meanwhile Lord Russell had rec[uested a change of the time of the couference 



200 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

to that very day. So tliat, when M. La Fuente was annoiinced as coming to see 
me at noon, it was not without some little trouble that I succeeded in making the 
appointment effective for that evening at a quarter before five o'clock. 

M. La Fuente does not speak English, neither is he a very perfect master of 
French. As a consequence, it has not been easy to confer with him on the two 
occasions upon which he has been to see me, once before and once after his con- 
ference with Lord Russell. I did not gather from him that he had succeeded in 
eliciting anything more definite from his lordship than I had obtained myself. 
He seemed more anxious to make inquiries of me as to the nature of the pro- 
position to be made to the United States, as well as to the rumored disposition 
of the latter to accept it. Lord Russell had been as silent to him in regard to 
his projects as he was to me. As to the other question, I pointed out the obvi- 
ous impossibility that such a rumor should be true, inasmuch as the time ne- 
cessary to receive a return from America had not elapsed. For the rest M. La 
Fuente seemed to be of opinion that any attempt by Spain to set up an authority 
in Mexico would certainly fail. I asked him whether there might not be a re- 
petition of the drama played in Dominica, and a formal invitation to assume the 
power from certain self-constituted atithorities of the priest and old Spanish parties 
in Mexico. He admitted the possibility, but he considered the preponderance of 
opposition so great over the broad surface of the country as to render the plan 
scarcely practicable. Yet he seemed utterly unprovided with any scheme to 
ward off the danger or to smooth the difficulties in which his country is involved. 
He is still in town, and he took leave expressing the hope of seeing me again 
before his return to France. I shall endeavor to call upon him before long. 

On Thursday I returned the visit of Mr. Moreira, the Brazilian minister, and 
I seized the occasion casually to get his views upon this proceeding of Spain. I 
found him not disposed to give much credit to the notion that any establishment 
of authority was contemplated. He considered it far too visionary. 

Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No, lll.J Department of State, 

Washington, Octoher 28, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatch of October 11, No. 57, has been received. I have 
thus far nothing from Lord Lyons on the subject of European intervention in 
Mexico. Of course T have nothing new to say on that subject. I hope the 
delay of movements is indicative of moderation, 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., 8fc., h^c, ^. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Seicard. 
[Extracts] 



No. 66.] Legation of the United States, 

London, November 1, 1861. 

Sir : I have to acknowledge the reception of despatches from the department, 
.No, 99 and No, 100, respectively dated the 10th and the 12th of October, They 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. " 201 

botli relate to the Mexican question, upon Ayliicli I have ah-eady made a report 
of my action in my despatches Nos, 50 and 62, the first of which, at least, must 
by this time be in your hands. It will clearly appear from the representation 
there made of the state in which the matter was left after my conference with 
Lord Russell, that it is utterly out of my power to propose a course of action 
for the government of the United States as suggested in your No. 99. As his 
lordship did not think fit to make me acquainted with the nature of the plan he 
was about to submit to your consideration through Lord Lyons, I must wait to 
learn it from you, as well as the reception which it has met with from the Presi- 
dent. In the meantime, rumors continue to fly about in the newspapers of the 
adoption of a scheme of co-operation between the three governments, which, in 
my belief, are as yet the ofiFspring of the wishes of interested parties rather 
than of established facts. There can be no doubt, however, that negotiation is 
actively in process for the attainment of some positive result, and that in the 
meantime the necessary force is ordered to be in preparation to execute what 
may be finally determined on. 

Yesterday I had the honor of another visit from M. La Fuente. But it seemed 
to be rather for the pu^-pose of gaining than imparting information. He had not 
yet received his despatches from home, or any authentic intelligence of the late 
events in Mexico. Indeed, he was indebted to me for a copy of the Mexican 
Extraordinary of the 27th of September, which I happened to have received 
the night before, confirming a report he had heard of a reactionary movement 
in the Sierra by the priest party, in conjunction with numbers of Spanish offi- 
cers, and raising the Spanish flag. But he seems as much unprepared with any 
remedy as ever. The truth is that the condition of the country is such as posi- 
tively to iuHte interference from abroad, and the great obstacle to it interposed 
by the ordinary position of the United States is so far diminished by their ex- 
isting divisions as to give full play to the revival of ambitious national dreams 
in Spain. All this I can well understand. But the policy of Great Britain in 
appearing even indirectly to give countenance to them is not as yet clear to me. 
It may be that she proposes to take a part in order to retain a right to control 
the result. ******* 

You will permit me here, however, to make a single remark in this connexion 
upon the importance of appearing to divest the United States of any personal 
and selfish interest in the action it may think proper to adopt. The view 
customarily taken in Europe is that their government is disposed to resist all 
foreign intervention in Mexico, not upon any principle, but simply because it is 
itself expecting, in due course of time, to absorb the whole country for its own 
benefit. Hence any proposal like that which I had the honor to receive, based 
upon the mortgage of portions of Mexican territory as security for engagements 
entered into by the United States, naturally becomes the ground of an outcry 
that this is but the preliminary to an entry for inevitable foreclosure. And 
then follows the argument that if this process be legitimate in one case, why 
not equally in all. As against Great Britain and France it would be difficult 
to oppose to this the abstract principle contained in what has been denominated 
the Monroe doctrine, however just in substance. But both those countries 
have of late years been disposed to give more and more weight to the doctrine 
of non-intervention in the internal government of nations where there may be a 
conflict with the general sentiment of the population. If this be acknowledged 
in the case of the smaller states of Italy, in Europe, it is difficult to understand 
how it can be denied in the more remote regions of the world. Certainly the 
states of America, north and south, are sufficiently distant from the theatre of 
contention on this side of the globe to entitle them to claim immunity from the 
danger of being swept by force into the vortex of its local passions. There 
can be no doubt that, as it regards. Europe, the voice of all the independent 
American nations, is the same. They want no dictation, nor any resumption 



202 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

of their old relations. If tliey fail in performing their honest engagements, 
they make themselves liable in their property, but not in their persons or their 
political rights. Any attempt to transcend that broad line of distinction is a 
mere appeal to force, which can carry with it no obligation one moment beyond 
the period when it may be successfully overthrown. And the principle is broad 
enough to make the maintenance of it in one country equally the cause of all 
the rest. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

CHAELES FRANCIS ADAMS. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract.] 



No. 68.] Legation of the United States, 

luondon, Novemher 8, 1861. 

Sir : You will probably receive by the present opportunity a copy of the 
convention entered into by the three powers on Thursday, the 31st of October 
last, and signed at this place by Lord Eussell, Count Flahault, and M. Isturiz. 
I have not yet seen it, but I am given to understand that it involves a joint 
possession of so much of Mexico as may be deemed necessary to secure a full 
reparation for all the injuries complained of, and leaves it open to the United 
States to become a party to the undertaking, if it shall think lit. I transmit 
herewith a copy of the London Morning Post of yesterday, which contains what 
may be regarded as a semi-official explanation of the views of this government 
on that subject. 

I received another visit from M. La Fuente on Wednesday, and we talked 
the matter over again quite freely ; but I did not discover that he had either 
any new views to present or additional information. I think he expresses more 
apprehension of a repetition of what he calls the "comedy of St. Domingo" 
than he did. But it seems to me that this is rendered less, rather than more, 
likely by the junction of the other two powers. 

********* 
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 

Hon. William H, Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



London, Thursday, Novemher 7, 1861. 
The Moniteur officially announces the fact, of which the better-informed class 
of persons in this country had been probably for some days aware, that the 
Mexican convention was concluded on Thursday last. This document was 
signed by Earl Russell, Count Flahault, and M. Isturiz, in this capital ; and we 
believe that, as soon as we shall be able to lay the text before our readers, it 
will be found, both in its general tenor and in the specific provisions which it 
contains, to bear out the character which we assigned to the intervention when 
we first announced it in our impression of the 24th of September. We then 
showed that our case against the Mexican government was altogether ex- 
ceptional, and was such as had no parallel in our grievances against any other 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 203 

state, wlietlier in Europe or America. It was not simply that tliese grievances 
were of long standing, that the government of the country had become utterly 
demoralized, and that the rights which one state, according to international law, 
has against the other, were ignored, and their redress withheld. There had 
been both pecuniary wrongs and personal wrongs endured by the three parties 
to the convention of a nature altogether special and peculiar. There was, on 
the one hand, the personal protection due to British, French, and Spanish sub- 
jects who were denizens in Mexico ; and there was, on the other hand, the 
property of bondholders, (chiefly English,) which had been formally secured 
upon mortgages of the public income, while the successive Mexican governments 
had diverted the latter from its due application. There can be no doiibt that 
we are perfectly justified in insisting that a government in professed alliance 
with ourselves (as that of Mexico is) shall protect British subjects within its 
territories, and the same justification of course applies to France and Spain in 
their relations with the Mexican authorities. Neither can there be any doubt 
that we are equally justified in insisting upon the payment of our pecuniary 
claims where there has been a formal hypothecation of public income for their 
liquidation, and a fraudulent repudiation of the pledges thus entered upon, as 
well as, in a particular instance, a violent robbery of property secured under 
the seal of the British legation. 

To deal first with the question of the personal security of the subjects of the 
three contracting powers in Mexico. The principle which we have always 
recognized as governing our relations with foreign countries is, that the foreign 
govermnent is responsible for the acts of its subjects. So long as civil war 
lasted in that country, we should be ready to adopt this principle with some 
reservation in actual practice ; and even when a government, imperfectly secure 
in its domestic authority, evinced a disposition to do its utmost in defence of 
British life and property, we should not be harsh in exacting a rigorous security 
for our subjects which could be hardly attainable in fact. But when this foreign 
government evinces an utter indifference to the lives of our fellow-subjects, oiir 
right of redress arises in all its force. Europeans have been unsafe even in the 
streets of the Mexican capital at midday ; " Death to the foreigners" has been 
the common cry of the people ; and when our representatives have demanded 
the redress to which we are entitled, they have been refused the very slightest 
assistance and protection for the future. We have, therefore, no alternative but 
to assume that the Mexican government, though not perhaps in actual com- 
plicity with the robbers and bandits by whom British subjects have been at- 
tacked, at any rate offers no opposition to their pillage. Let the government 
be as feeble as it may, we are entitled to require that it shall protect our sub- 
jects to the extent of its ability ; and we cannot but charge upon its indifference, 
if not upon its complicity, much of the grievance which we have now to redress. 
If private wrongs of this kind ever call for public indemnification — if British 
subjects can ever demand security for their personal safety for the future — it is 
certainly in the present case of Mexico. 

In turning from the more strictly personal to the more strictly pecuniary 
grievances which we have against Mexico, it may be fairly asked what is the 
good of a mortgage if it is not to operate as a security ; and what becomes of 
the " security" if the mortgagors are not permitted to foreclose ? A simple loan 
contracted by one country with another in itself imports a solemn obligation ; 
and if there is any analogy whatever between international and municipal law 
in this respect, there ought to be a right of redress where the terms of the com- 
pact are fraudulently repudiated by the power which has incurred the debt. 
But if this ])e so with a simple loan, much more is it the case where there has 
been a formal hypothecation of sea-coast custom-houses as a security for the 
payment of interest due in consideration of it. Indeed, the very selection of 
seaport customs dues as a mortgage to a maritime power bears much of the 



204 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

character of an acknowledgment of the right of that power to interfere in the 
event of default taking place. To take an example from European states. We 
granted a loan to Turkey, in 1854, upon the security of the Egyptian tribute. 
Turkey, indeed, has faithfully met all her obligations. But, supposing that she 
had failed to pay the interest due upon this loan, either we should have had a 
distinct lien upon the Egyptian tribute, or the pretended security would have 
amounted to nothing at all. In the case of Mexico, however, there has been 
not only simple failure, but protracted failure, and a virtual repudiation which 
is obviously fraudulent, to say nothing of the open robbery committed by Mira- 
mon's government. We can hardly conceive, therefore, a wider misapplication 
of terms than to describe an insistance on the securities deliberately pledged by 
the Mexican government as equivalent to " a collection of bad debts," as it has 
been termed in one or two quarters. The customs revenue of the country war- 
rants the supposition that the debts are capable of collection, and therefore 
good. The law of morahty must bear in international jurisprudence an analogy 
to municipal jurisprudence if there is to be any confidence and security in trans- 
actions between one people and another. We, however, have yet to learn that 
there is any necessity for vindicating a convention which, at all events, cannot 
be duly criticized until its purport is fully known ; and we believe that it will 
tend to establish a principle of morality between government and government 
which will impart fresh stability to all international transactions. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. li9.J Department of State, 

Washington, November 9, 1861. 
Sir : Your despatch of October 24 (No. 62) has been received. 
The rendering of your good ofiSces to Mr. Oseguera is entirely approved. I 
wish, indeed, that it were possible for you or for me to do more than seems 
now to be practicable for the benefit of Mexico to assure her peace. As things 
stand,^ we can only be watchful of occasions for that purpose, and jealous of our 
own rigljts and interests. 

We are waiting with some solicitude for the communication concerning the 
Mexican question promised you by Earl Russell. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., S^c, ^e., Sfc. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract.] 



No. 71.j Legation of the United States, 

London, November 14, 1861. 
********* 

Before taking my leave I seized the opportunity to speak a word upon the 
subject of the confidential communication made in your No. 110. I asked 
whether his lordship was apprised of the facts there stated. He said yes. 
Lord Cowley had written to him about it. The proceeding did not seem to 
have a very definite shape. It was rather a suggestion than anything else. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 205 

And wlien asked wliether Lord Lyons would be directed to follow suit, the 
answer had been in the negative. 

I dropped the matter at that point, and went on to speak of the convention 
about Mexico. I said that what pretended to be the substance of that paper 
had already appeared in the journals, French and English, but as there was 
some discrepancy in the statements, I should feel myself much favored with 
the opportunity to have a sight of it. I presumed it had been already sent to 
my government, as I saw that an opening was left to it to become a party if it 
pleased. His lordship said the convention had not yet been signed. It prob- 
ably would be in the course of the week, and I should have a copy of it. I 
then observed that M. La Fuente, who was still here, expressed great appre- 
hension of the effects of it in destroying all that was left of authority in Mexico. 
On the other hand, the Spanish press did not pretend to conceal their confident 
expectation of a re-establishment of the national authority. His lordship replied 
that intervention was expressly disavowed in the treaty. As to the present 
existence of authority, there was none. If that which claimed it had acted 
with moderation, and had given notice of their embarrassments and acknowl- 
edged their obligations, it would have been something. But to proclaim coolly 
a refusal to pay an undeniable promise was intolerable. Sir Charles Wyke 
had written that the present mode was the only one by which to bring round 
any remedy for the evil, and so the government had concluded to adopt it. 

I then took my leave of his lordship. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

OHAELES FRANCIS ADAMS. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 128.] Department of State, 

Washington, November 21,, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatch of November 1 (No. 66) has been received. It treats 
of the Mexican question. But thus far I have not received from Lord Lyons 
the note on that subject which we were authorized to expect. On the contrary, 
I hear informally that a convention has been concluded between Spain, France, 
and Great Britain, providing for concerted hostilities, and that this treaty is to 
be submitted to the United States, with consent that they shall become a party. 
I hear also that the treaty stipulates against any political designs, and confines 
the expedition merely to the redress of grievances. 

I hear from Mexico at last. The Mexican government accepts our proposition 
to assume or guarantee her debt upon security to be given to us. But the 
British and French having virtually declined to accept this arrangement, the 
whole matter remains in a very unsatisfactory state, and I am unable to see at 
this moment what course we can take to afford relief or security to Mexico. 
I am, sir, yom* obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Charles Francis Adams, S^., &j-c., Sfc. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 133.] Department of State, 

Washington, November 25, 1861. 
Sir : Your despatch of November 8 (No. 68) has been submitted to the Pre 
sident. Mr. Mercier, the mhiister of France, has unofficially communicated to 



206 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

me tlie treaty of Spain, France, and England in regard to Mexico, wliicli I un- 
derstand will be formally laid before us immediately by the three contracting 
powers. 

I shall be able to give you the result of the President's deliberations upon it 
by the next mail ; meantime it seems difficult to find out what can be done to 
avert the calamities which threaten our unhappy neighbor, though she has our 
sympathies guaranteed, as all just sympathies are, by enlightened views of in- 
terests of our own. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 

Charles Francis Adams, Esq., &^., Sfc., ^c. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No, 148.] Department of State, 

Washington, Decemher 18, 1861. 
Sir : I transmit for your information the copy of a note, of the 4th instant, 
addressed by me to the diplomatic representatives of Spain, France, and Great 
Britain accredited to this government, relative to the proposed accession 
of the United States to the convention which was concluded at London on the 
31st of October last between those powers for the redress of their grievances 
against the republic of Mexico. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED, 
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., ^c, S^c., Sfc. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 161.] Department of State, 

Washington, January 8, 1862. 

Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch (No. 71) of the 
14th of November last. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., ^c, S^c, S^. 



Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. 



[Extract.] 

No. 106.] , Legation of the United States, 

Zdondon, January 24, 1862. 

You will doubtless have had your attention drawn before this time to the 
course which the Mexican intervention is taking. On the reception of the news 
of the landing of the Spanish force and its occupation of Vera Cruz, the an- 
nouncement is made of the outfit of a French force designed to follow up the 
advantage. It is no longer concealed that tlie intention is to advance to the 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 207 

capital, and to establisli a firm government, loitli tJie consent of the people, at 
that place. But who are meant by that term does not appear. This issue is 
by no means palatable to the government here, though it is difficult to imagine 
that they could have been blind to it. Feeble murmurs of discontent are heard, 
but they "^dll scarcely be likely to count for much in the face of the obligation 
under which the action of the Emperor in the Trent case has placed them. 
The military occupation will go on, and will not cease with the limits now 
assigned to it. It is not difficult to understand the nature of the fulcrum thus 
obtained for operations in a new and a different quarter, should the occasion be 
made to use it. The expedition to the city of Mexico may not stop until it 
shows itself in the heart of the Louisiana purchase. 

* * . *■ # # # # # # 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 191.J Department of State, 

Washington, February 19, 1862. 

Sir : -Although I have adverted in other instructions to the subjects discussed 
in your despatch of January. 24, (IsTo. 106,) it is only now that I have found 
leisure to acknowledge the reception of that paper. 

I shall carefully observe the progress of affairs in Mexico. If, indeed, our 
own Union were likely to fall, and the southern portion of the United States 
were to pass under a European protectorate, we could have small ground to 
hope that we could save Mexico from Eiiropean reconquest and subjugation. 
But with reassurances of our own safety comes up to us an absolute confidence 
that no part of the continent will lose republican institutions and self-govern- 
ment. 

We have acted, and shall continue to act, with frankness and justice towards 
the three j)ower3 who are mvading Mexico, as well as with liberality to the gov- 
ernment of Mexico itself. We do this distinctly relying on the assurances we 
have received from those powers that they will seek no political objects in then" 
mvasion. If they should forfeit these pledges their broken faith would be 
rewarded with only serious complications, ending in results disastrous to them- 
selves. 

But we will not allow ourselves to indulge apprehensions that could only be 
justified by distrust of the good faith of the three great states concerned. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Charles Francis Adams, Esq., S^c., S^c., S^. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 198.] Department of State, 

Washington, March 3, 1862. 

Sir : We observe indications of a growing opinion in Europe that the de- 
monstrations which are being made by Spanish, French, and British forces 
against Mexico are likely to be attended with a revolution in that country which 
will bring in a monarchical government there, in which the crown wiU be assumed 
by some foreign prince. 

This country is deeply concerned in the peace of nations, and aims to be loyal 



208 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

at the same time in all its relations, as well to the allies as to Mexico. The 
President has therefore instructed me to submit his views on the new aspect 
of affairs to the parties concerned. He has relied upon the assurances given to 
this government by the allies that they were seeking no political objects and 
only a redress of grievances. He does not doubt the sincerity of the allies, and 
his confidence in their good faith, if it could be shaken, would be reinspired by 
explanations apparently made in their behalf that the governments of Spain, 
France, and Great Britain are not intending to intervene and will not intervene 
to effect a change of the constitutional form of government now existing in 
Mexico, or to produce any political change there in opposition to the will of the 
Mexican people. Indeed, he understands the allies to be unanimous in declaring 
that the proposed revolution in Mexico is moved only by Mexican citizens now 
in Europe. 

The President, however, deems it his duty to express to the allies, in alL 
candor and frankness, the opinion that no monarchical government which could 
be foiinded in Mexico, in the presence of foreign navies and armies in the waters 
and upon the soil of Mexico, would have any prospect of security or perma- 
nency. Secondly, that the instability of such a monarchy there would be 
enhanced if the throne should be assigned to any person not of Mexican nativity. 
That under such circumstances the new government must speedily fall unless it 
could draw into its support European alliances, which, relating back to the pre- 
sent invasion, would, in fact, make it the beginning of a permanent policy of 
armed European monarchical intervention injurious and practically hostile to the 
most general system of government on the continent of America, and this would 
be the beginning rather than the ending of revolution in Mexico. 

These views are grounded upon some knowledge of the political sentiments 
and habits of society in America. 

In such a case it is not to be doubted that the permanent interests and sym- 
pathies of this country would be with the other American republics. It is not 
intended on this occasion to predict the course of events which might happen 
as a consequence of the proceeding contemplated, either on this continent or in 
Europe. It is sufficient to say that, in the President's opinion, the emancipation 
of this continent from European control has been the principal feature in its 
history during the last century. It is not probable that a revoluiion in a con- 
trary directioji would be successful in an immediately succeeding century, while 
population in America is so rapidly increasing, resources so rapidly developing, 
and society so steadily forming itself upon principles of democratic American 
government. Nor is it necessary to suggest to the allies the improbability that 
European nations could steadily agree upon a policy favorable to such a counter- 
revolution as one conducive to their own interests, or to suggest that, however 
studiously the allies may act to avoid lending the aid of their land and naval 
forces to domestic revolutions in Mexico, the result would nevertheless be trace- 
able to the presence of those forces there, although for a different purpose, since 
it may be deemed certain that but for their presence there no such revolution 
could probably have been attempted or even conceived. 

The Senate of the United States has not, indeed, given its official sanction to 
the precise measures which the President has proposed for lending our aid to 
the existing government in Mexico, with the approval of the allies, to relieve it 
from its present embarrassments. This, however, is only a question of domestic 
administration. It would be very erroneous to regard such a disagreement as 
indicating any serious difference of opinion in this government or among the 
American people in their cordial good wishes for the safety, welfare, and stability 
of the republican system of government in that coimtry. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Charles Francis Adams, Esq., ^c, 8fc., ^. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 209 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract ] 

No. 115.] Legation of the United States, 

London, Fehruary 14, 1862. 

Sir : You will receive by tliis steamer copies of the documents published by- 
order of tlie British government relating to foreign affairs, numbered from 1 to 6. 
It is deserving of notice that the documents issued by the government of the 
United States in connexion with the President's message, on the same subject, 
have been also reprinted in extenso in a separate volume. 

That portion of these papers relating to the Mexican imbroglio will, of comse, 
attract your immediate attention. It would seem as if her Majesty's ministers 
were finding themselves already plunged far more deeply in the enterprise than 
they at first contemplated, and were on the point of being pushed into a complete 
abandonment of the long-established maxims of British policy. In this con- 
nexion I was led with some curiosity to examine Lord Russell's note to Lord 
Cowley of the 27th of September, giving an abstract of my conversation with 
him on this subject, and to compare it with my own report of the same, trans- 
mitted to you in my despatch, No. 50, of the 28th of the same month. In the 
earlier portion of the conference there is a substantial agreement, but it is worthy 
of note that the particular assurance given at its close, with authority to be 
communicated to you, is alluded to in his lordship's letter only as it may be 
found in the second of the two conditional bases of union directed to be presented 
to the consideration of the government of France. 

The facts attending the present condition of the question, so far as I can 
gather them, are these : The Spanish government, impatient of delays, as indi- 
cated at the beginning, took the initiative, and despatched a much stronger force 
of troops to Mexico than had been contemplated by the other powers. Scarcely 
had they reached the country before new and material modifications of the 
original plans were given out to be rendered necessary by the emergency. On . 
receiving the intelligence the French government, fearful of losing the whole 
control of the movement, at once ordered forth a re- enforcement of land troops, 
without, however, discouraging the change introduced into the plan of the 
expedition. It then became noised abroad that a distinct proposal had been 
made to the Archduke Maximilian of Austria to accept the position of king of 
the country, but by whom this proposal had been made did not clearly appear. 
The allegation noAv is, that it came from certain influential representatives of 
that country now in Europe. Very possibly Generals Almonte and Miramon 
may have been of the number, but at least no American could fail at once to 
see the vanity of such popular sentiment as they embody, or to comprehend the 
uses to Avhicli they have been put by persons who are ready to make that senti- 
ment out of the bayonets of Europe. Of the motives for this action the conjec- 
tures of people widely differ. Some pretend to say that this offer to an Austrian 
prince was intended to secure the settlement of Italy by the surrender of Venetia 
and the temporal power of the Pope. Others affect to regard it as designed 
ultimately to establish a French principality all around the Gulf coast. How- 
ever this may be, the fact of intervention is certainly avowed by Spain and 
France, and it finds its defenders even in Great Britain. 

It remains only to examine the position of the latter power in connexion with 
the matter. We all remember the somewhat exaggerated egotism of George 
Canning, when he said, " I called that country into existence," as well as all 
the later policy which secured those regions as a field for British commerce and 
enterprise against a relapse under the narrow exclusiveness of Spain. We also 
know how earnestly England has proclaimed the doctrine of non-intervention 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 14 



210 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

in the domestic questions of European states that are seeking to ruake good 
their rights to establish their own institutions. Moreover, the distinctness with 
which Lord Russell, at our interview in September last, authorized me to 
declare this, as the principle of British action in regard to Mexico, is doubtless 
fresh in your recollection of my account of it ; yet the fact is not the less clear 
to all the world that at this moment Great Britain actually occupies the post of 
holding the door, whilst her two associates, with her kuowledge, go in, fully 
prepared, if they can, to perpetrate the act which she, at the outset, made them 
denounce, at the same time that she disavowed every idea of being made to par- 
ticipate in it. It is deserving of notice, in this connexion, that all the process 
which terminated in the convention between the three powers took place during 
the period of recess, when no cabinet consultations whatever are held. There 
is reason for believing that the business was conducted by Lord Russell, 
mainly under the direction of Lord Palmerston, and that many of the ministers 
were taken by surprise on learning that it was completed. I hear that some 
are not satisfied with the situation, and are anxious to retreat from it. Such is 
the present state of the question. In the meantime it is expected that the sub- 
ject will be brought to the consideration of Parliament by the opposition in such 
a form as to compel the government to the adoption of a less equivocal line of 

policy. 

******* 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, JVasJiington, D. C. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams. 



No. 204.] Department of State, 

Washington, March 10, 1862. 

Sir : Your despatch of February 14 (No. 115) has been received. 

The discussion of the intervention of the allies in Mexico which it contains 
has been found of great value. 

I have already furnished you with full accounts of what this government has 
done in regard to it. Your own sagacity -udll enable you to discern the spirit 
in which we are acting upon that important subject. 

Probably the great change that has occurred in the aspect of affairs here will 
not be without its beneficial influence in Mexico as well as in Europe. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. ' 
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., ^r., ^r., Sfc. 



Mr. Seioard to Mr. Dayton. 



No. 49.] Department of State, 

Wasliington, Septeniber 2, 1861. 
Sir : I have to invite your attention to the enclosed copy of a despatch of 
the 24th ultimo, addressed by this department to the minister of the United 
States at Mexico, relative to the present state of affairs in that country. 
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
William L. Dayton, Esq., Sfc., ^., Sfc. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 211 



Mr. Dayton to Mr. Sezvard. 

No. 49.] Paris, Septemher 25, 1861. 

Sir: Despatches 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 were received yesterday, and 
tlieir contents respectively noted. 

I will, at the earliest opportunity, consult with the present minister at this 
court from Mexico, with a view to some concert of action in reference to the 
proposition in despatch 49. 

Without some understanding with him as to the views of the Mexican gov- 
ernment, it is not probahle much can be accomplished. 
With much respect, I am your obedient servant, 

WM. L. DAYTON. 
His Excellency William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. 



Department of State, 

Washington, October 11„ 1861'.. 
Sir : Your despatch of September 25 (No. 49) has just been received. 
I transmit herewith a copy of my despatch No. 99 to Mr. Adams, relating to 
the impending designs of Spain, France, and Great Britain in regard to Mexico. 
You will please regard those instrvictions as addressed to yourself. 
I am, sir, your obedient seiwant, 



William L. Dayton, Esq., b^c, ^., ^. 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. 



No. 51.] Paris, Septemher 27, 1861. 

Sir : Immediately after the receipt of yours in respect to the assumption by 
the United States of the interest at three per cent, on the debt due to the 
Mexican bondholders, I sought an interview with Mr. Fuentes, the minister who 
represents the present government of Mexico at Paris. Of course I was not 
ignorant of the condition of the diplomatic relations between France and Mexico, 
yet I felt that the aid of the Mexican minister might, ui a certain event, be of 
service. I found him not only willing but anxious to co-operate with me in 
bringing about any arrangement which would relieve his unfortunate country 
from the threatened interference by England and France. His own interviews 
with Mr. Thouvenel had not been attended with any favorable result. I 
addressed a note to Mr. Thouvenel on the 25tli soliciting an interview, which 
was promptly granted for the 27th. I have just returned from that interview. 
Mr. Thouvenel was already in possession of your proposition, made, he said, to 
Lord Lyons, in the absence of Mr. Mercier, and which he represented as sub- 
stantially the same as that now presented by me. He gave lue no reason 
to suppose the proposition would be accepted, btit the contrary. He said you 
had not understood the character of the French claims, and that your propo- 
sition did not cover them at all. That those claims were not dra^viug interest 
as ^funded debt, but the capital {^i5 to 30 millions of francs) was to be paid. 
This they intended to collect by taking possession of the ports of Vera Cruz 



212 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

and Tarnpico, and appropriating certain portions of the revenne to the payment 
of the capital of the debt, and the balance of the revenue, as I understood, was 
to go to the support of the government. 

This was the plan intimated, though I think he said it was not definitely 
agreed upon. I told him that the government of the United States feared the 
complications to which this might lead, and was desirous that Mexico should 
remain an independent power on our continent. That we shotild view with great 
anxiety any course of action upon the part of foreign powers which looked to 
its extinction. He answered somewhat pointedly that, so far as he could jndge 
from the past, its danger of extinction had been rather from the United States 
than elsewhere, to which, I am constrained to say, I made no very satisfactory 
reply. I told him, however, that the question now was of the future, not of the 
past. I said to him, further, that it seemed to me that if these foreign powers 
seized upon the revenues of Mexico, although no other forcible action was taken 
against her, that the government must, of necessity, fall to pieces ; it could not 
exist without adequate means for its administration. To this he answered, tliat 
perhaps Mexico might find herself in the condition of China, the authorities of 
which, not long since, returned thanks to England and France for the share of 
revenue they allowed from certain ports in their possession, Avhich was greater, 
as the authorities said, than they had ever received before. He assured me, 
however, that whatever England and France might do, it would be done in 
reference to realizing their money debt only, and that they had no purpose 
whatever to obtain any foothold in Mexico, or to occupy permanently any portion 
of its territory. He repeated this with emphasis. He furthermore stated, 
explicitly, that should Spain come in, as one of the powers acting in concert 
with France and England, for her claims, it would be with a distinct under- 
standing that she, too, should not attempt to hold any part of the territory. I 
was somewhat particular in my inquiries vipon this point, because I could not 
forbear the belief that Spain might look to a reassertion of her former rule over 
Mexico or some part of it. 

Mr. Thouvenel said if I chose to put my proposition in writing he would 
examine it with care, and give me a written answer. I told him, however, as 
the proposition had already been communicated by Lord Lyons, and was dis- 
tinctly understood, I did not think it necessary at present to go further. I 
may do so after confemng by letter with Mr. Adams, and ascertaining what are 
the dispositions manifested in England in reference to this offer. The amount 
of the Mexican debt held in England is so much larger than in France that 
perhaps (if the debt is all they seek) the proposition will be more favorably 
received there than here. If such should be so, I Avill then again present it 
formally to the French government, and, perhaps, with better prospects of 
success. I cannot but feel, however, that all these governments are disposed to 
take advantage of the present distracted condition of the United States. Should 
rebellion at an early day be suppressed, and leave us with a large and disciplined 
army on foot, and a navy increased, different dispositions may develop them- 
selves. But I have no wish to comment upon this view of the question. 

With much respect I have the honor to be, respectfully, your obedient 
servant, 

WM. L. DAYTON. 

His Excellency Wm. H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, &c. 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 213 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. 

No. 68.] Department of State, 

Wasliington, October 19, 1861. 
Sir: Your despatch of September 27, No. 51, was duly received. Your 
proceedings on tlie subject of the controversy between France and Mexico, and 
the tender you had been instructed to make on the part of this government, are 
entirely satisfactory. I learn from Mr. Adams that the British government and 
the French intend to make a counter proposition to the United States. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
William L. Dayton, Esq., S^., &fc., S^c. 



Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract ] 



No. 74.] 

Paris, NovemherQ, 1861. 
Sir : Your despatch No. 67, enclosing a copy of your despatch (No. 99) to 
Mr. Adams in reference to the affairs of France, Great Britain, and Spain, and 
Mexico, was duly received; but the matter was matured by the three govern- 
ments first named before the arrival of this despatch, and was consummated by 
treaty on the 31st of October last. Had it come earlier, hoAvever, it would have been 
useless to solicit the kind offices of France with Spain when she wholly decHned 
an acceptance of our propositions in reference to her own claims. Indeed, it 
seemed to me as if she had no disposition to have them settled by us. Steamers 
sail next Monday for the West Indies, where troops will be taken on board for 
the expedition. There will be quite an imposing fleet which these allies will 
have in the Gulf, as much, I fear, to watch the condition of things in our own 
country as to look after Mexico. But as the treaty has been, or immediately 
will be, sent over to you, with an invitation (somewhat late, as I told Mr. 
Thouvenel,) for the United States to participate, it is needless for me to dwell 
ixpon details. The French fleet, consisting, if I understood aright, of one large 
vessel-of-war, four frigates, two gunboats, and four advice boats, (small tenders,) 
^y\\\ sail for the West Indies on Monday next to take troops, principally Spanish, 
I presume, from Cuba, and expect to reach Vera Cruz about the 25th of this 
month. Mr. Thouvenel said the United States had "griefs" to settle with 
Mexico as well as they. I availed myself of the occasion to say that I was 
happy that it was thought at least due to the United States that we should have 
an mvitation (though somewhat late) to join in the expedition if we chose. I 
further told him I had been informed that it was a long time since suggested by 
Spain and Great Britain that the United States should be taken into conference 
on tins subject, but that France had objected. He answered that this was not 
so, but It was directly the contrary; that France had first made the proposi- 
tion as early as August last, as her correspondence with the British government 
would show. * * * * # »°# i^ 

With much respect, I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

„. ^ „ AVILLIAM L. DAYTON. 

His Excellency William H. Sew^ard, ^y;., Sfc., Sfc. 



214 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No. 62.] Paris, October 16, 1861. 

Sir : Despalches Nos. 59, 60, 61, and 62 are duly received, and contents noted. 

Despatch No. 60 applies to affairs between England, France, and Mexico. 
Immediately tipon the receipt of your despatch No. 49, enclosing a copy of that 
which had been sent to Mr. Corwin, (which, I inferred, you intended should be 
acted upon by Mr. Adams and myself without further instructions,) I applied 
to Mr. Thouvenel for an interview. My despatch to you of the 27th of Septem- 
ber last gives the result of that intervieAv, and anticipates ' therefore the action 
required of me in your despatch No. 60. Mr. Thouvenel's statement of the 
purpose of the proposed action on the part 'of England and France toAvards 
Mexico was full and explicit, so far as the same had been understood or agreed 
upon between England and France. 

Mr. Schurz, at Madrid, is satisfied that there is to be an attempt on the part 
of Spain to have one of the royal family of that country called upon by the 
people of Mexico to assume the throne. It is to be a call of the people of the 
same nature and got up in the same way as in the case of St. Domingo ! But 
he has doubtless given you all information on this point. At his urgent request 
I have given him the information as to the contemplated action of England and 
France, which I received here. He was informed by Mr. Calderon that Great 
Britain and Spain were desirous of associating the United States with them on 

their proposed expedition to or against Mexico. 

******** 

With much respect I have the honor to be yoiu' obedient servant, 

WM. L. DAYTON. 
His Excellency William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, 8fc., &c., Sfc. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. 

[Extract.] 



No. 79.] Department of State, 

Washington, November 4, 1861. 
Sir: Your despatch of October 16 (No. 62) has been received. 
We cannot observe the proceedings in Spain, France, and Great Britain in 
regard to Mexico Avithout deep concern. But their effects upon our own interests 
are likely to be only incidental. 

******** 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

William L. Dayton, Esq., S^c., S^., Sfc. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 215 

Mr. Setcard to Mr. Dayton. 

[Extract.] 

j;j-Q_ g5 1 Department of State, 

Washington, Novemher 23, 1861. 

g ********* 

Mr. Mercier has just informally aunoiinced to us the execution of the conven- 
tion between Spain, France, and Great Britain. We therefore have the subject 
under consideration. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAil H. SEWAKD. 

WiLLfAM L. Dayton, Esq., 4^., S^c, &fc. 



Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. 

[Extract.] 

j;j"o. 75.1 Paris, 'Noi-emler 7, 1861. 

gjjj. ********* 
Your despatch No. 68 informs me of Mr. Adams's communication of an 
intended counter proposition to be made by England and France to our govern- 
ment in respect to Mexican affairs. Of this I had heard before, and it made 
me less anxious as to the question here ; for the fact that a counter proposition 
was to be made and answered would of necessity, as I thought, occupy tune, 
and give the United States a chance for reflection and, perhaps, action. The 
prompt consummation of this matter in London has rather taken me by surprise. 
I fear that some misunderstanding of each other's meaning may have occurred 
upon the part of Mr. Adams and Earl Russell, or one of them. _ At all events, 
a point has been reached at a much earlier day than an intimation of such 
intended proposition led me to anticipate. 

I am, sir, with respect, your obedient servant, 

WM. L. DAYTON. 
His Excellency William H. Seward, ^r., 4pc., h^. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. 



No. 92.1 Department op State, 

Washington, December 18, 1861. 

Sir : I transmit for your information the copy of a note of the 4th instant, 
addressed by me to the diplomatic representatives of Spain, France, and Great 
Britain, accredited to this government, relative to the proposed accession of the 
United States to the convention, which was concluded at London on the 31st of 
October last between those powers, for the redress of their grievances against 
the republic of Mexico. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

William L. Dayton, Esq., Sfc., Sfc., S^v. 



216 , THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No. 103.] Paris, January 15, 1862. 

Sir : I liave the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 92 
with the copy of a note addressed to the representatives of Spain, France, and 
Great Britain, accredited to the government of the United States. 

********** 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

WM. L. DAYTON. 
His Excellency William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Sfc., Sfc., Sfc. 



Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract.] 



No. 113.] Paris, Fehruary 13, 1862. 

gijj. * * *■* * * * * * 

I am not surprised to hear that more difficulty to the parties allied against 
Mexico is likely to arise than was contemplated. If serious resistance is made, 
it is not improbable that France may send out an increased force, and at an 
early day. It is now believed that her purposes, as respects the future of Mexico, 
conflict with those of Spain, and that each of these powers has a special object 
of its own to answer. 
********** 

With much respect, your obedient servant, 

WM. L. DAYTON. 

His Excellency William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, 4rc., ^r., S^. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. 



No. 121.] Department of State, 

Washington, Mareh 3, 1862. 

Sir : We observe indications of a growing opinion in Europe that the demon- 
strations which are being made by Spanish, French, and British forces against 
Mexico are likely to be attended with a revolution in that country, which will 
bring in a monarchical government there, in which the crown will be assumed by 
some foreign prince. This country is deeply concerned in the peace of nations, 
and aims to be loyal at the same time in all its relations as well to the allies as 
to Mexico. The President has, therefore, instructed me to submit his views on 
the new aspect of affairs to the parties concerned. 

He has relied upon the assurances given to this government by the allies that 
they were seeking no political objects, and only a redress of grievances. He 
does not doubt the sincerity of the allies, and his confidence in their good faith, 
if it could be shaken, would be reinspired by explanations apparently made in 
their behalf, that the governments of Spain, France, and Great Britain are not 
intending to intervene, and will not intervene to effect a change of the constitu- 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 217 

tional form of gorernment now existing in Mexico, or to produce any political 
cliange tliei-e in opposition to the will of the Mexican people. Indeed, he un- 
derstands the allies to be unanimous in declaring that the proposed revolution 
in Mexico is moved only by Mexican citizens now in Europe. 

The President, however, deems it his duty to express to the allies, in all can- 
dor and frankness, the opinion that no monarchical government which could be 
founded in Mexico, in the presence of foreign navies and armies in the waters 
and upon the soil of Mexico, would have any prospect of security or perma- 
nence. Secondly, that the instability of such a monarchy there would be en- 
hanced if the throne should be assigned to any person not of Mexican nativity. 
That, under such circumstances, the new government must speedily fall, unless 
it could draw into its support European alliances which, relating back to the 
first invasion, would, in fact, make it the beginning of a permanent policy of 
armed European monarchical intervention, injurious and practically hostile to 
the most general system of government prevailing on the continent of America, 
and this would be the beginning rather than the endipg of revolution in Mexico. 

These views are grounded upon some knowledge of the political sentiments 
and habits of society in America. 

In such a case it is not to be doubted that the permanent interests and sym- 
pathies of this country would be with the other American republics. 

It is not intended, on this occasion, to predict the course of events which 
might happen as a consequence of the proceeding contemplated, either on this 
continent or in Europe. It is sufficient to say that, in the President's opinion, 
the emancipation of this continent from European control has been the princi- 
pal feature in its history during the last century. It is not probable that a revo- 
lution in a contrary direction would be successful in an immediately succeeding 
century, while population in America is so rapidly increasing, resources so 
rapidly developing, and society so steadily forming itself upon principles of de- 
mocratic American government. Nor is it necessary to suggest to the allies the 
improbability that European nations could steadily agree upon a policy favor- 
able to such a counter revolution as one conducive to their own interests. I will 
only remark that, however studiously the allies may act to avoid lending the aid 
of their land and naval forces to domestic revolutions in Mexico, the result would, 
nevertheless, be traceable to the presence of those forces there, although for a 
different purpose, since it may be deemed certain that, but for their presence 
there, no such revolution could probably have been attempted or even conceived. 

The Senate of the United States has not indeed given its official sanction to 
the precise measures which the President has proposed for lending our aid to 
the existing government in Mexico, with the approval of the allies, to relieve it 
from its present embarrassments. This, however, is only a question of domestic 
administration. It would be very erroneous to regard such a disagreement as 
indicating any serious difference of opinion in this government or among the 
American people in their cordial good wishes for the safety, welfare, and sta- 
bility of the republican system of government in that country. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant. 



William L. Bayton, Esq., Sfc., Sfc-., Sfc. 



WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. 



No. 126.] Department of State, 

WasJiington, March 10, 1862. . 

Sir: Your despatch of Febniary 21 has been received. We are giving 
carei'ul attention to affairs in Mexico. Whatever political designs may have 



218 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

•found, place, though disclaimed among the motives assigned for the expedition 
to that country, they seem likely to fail through three causes — want of agree- 
ment among the parties intervening, unlooked for resistance on the part of 
Mexico, and the changed aspect of public affairs in the United States. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



William L. Dayton, Esq., 8fc., Sfc., 8fc. 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton. 



No. 135.] Department of State, 

Washington, March 31, 1862. 

Sir : I transmit extracts* from a despatch lately received from our very intel- 
ligent consul at Havana, which will direct your attention to the operations of 
the French government in Mexico. 

We have acted with moderation and with good faith towards the three powers 
which invited our co-operation in their combined expedition to that disturbed 
and unhappy country. We have relied upon their disclaimers of all political 
designs against the Mexican republic. But we cannot shut out from our sight 
the indications which, unexplained, are calculated to induce a belief that the 
government of France has lent favoring attention to Mexican emissaries, who 
have proposed to subvert the republican American system in Mexico and to 
import into that country a throne, and even a monarch from Europe. 

You will intimate to Mr. Thouvenel that rumors of this kind have reached 
the President and awakened some anxiety on his part. You will say that you 
are not authorized to ask explanations, but you are sure that if any can be made, 
which will be calculated to relieve that anxiety, they will be very welcome, in- 
somuch as the United States desire nothing so much as to maintain a good 
understanding and the most cordial relations with the government and the 
people of France. 

It will hardly be necessary to do more in assigning your reasons for this pro- 
ceeding on your part than to say that we have more than once, and with perfect 
distinctness and candor, infonned all the parties to the alliance that we cannot 
look with indifference upon any armed European intervention for political ends 
in a country situated so near and connected with us so closely as Mexico. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



William L. Dayton, Esq.. Sfc,., Sfc., Sfc. 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Mr. Dayton to Mr. Seward. 
[Extract.] 

No. 131.] Paris, March 31, 1862. 

Sir ;******** 
"I then referred Mr. Thouvenel to your despatch, No. 121, in reference to 
the action of the allies towards Mexico. He said France could do no more than 
she had already done, and that was to reassure us of her purpose not to inter- 
fere in any way with the internal government of Mexico. That their sole pur- 

* These extracts, being of a confidential character, are reserved. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 219 

pose Avas to obtain payment of their claims, and reparation for the wrongs and 
iiTJuries done to tliem. 

" I stated, in reply, that the President reposed entire confidence in these 
assurances, but, feeling great interest in the wellbeing of Mexico and its insti- 
tutions, he felt that the occasion justified the expression of some general views 
in reference to the present and probable future of that country. To prevent 
misapprehension as to these views, I informed him that, although your despatch 
did not authorize me to give a copy, yet I would leave it in his hands to be 
read. " This was accordingly done." 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WM. L. DAYTON. 



Mr. Sc7mrz to Mr. Seward. 



No. 15.J Legation of the United States, 

San Ildefonso, September 7, 1861. 

Sir : Yesterday's papers, which reached us this morning, were filled with ar- 
ticles discussing the probability of an intervention of France and England in 
Mexico, and urging the Sjianish government to join the two great powers in the 
enterprise. The tone of the ministerial journals led me to believe that an im- 
derstanding had already bee^ arrived at between those three governments, and 
I immediately called upon Mr, Calderon OoUantes for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing wtat had been done and what was in contemplation. 

I opened the conversation by referring to the above-mentioned newspaper ar- 
ticles and adding, that in everything that happened in Mexico, a state contigu- 
ous to our frontiers, the United States had a natural interest, and that it was a 
legitimate desire on our part to be informed of the plans which foreign powers 
might entertain with relation to that republic. As to the present case I had no 
instructions, nor even an expression of opinion from my government, but I ad- 
dressed myself of my own motion to her Majesty's secretary of state, hoping 
that, in a matter of such importance, her Majesty's government would, with its 
accustomed frankness, communicate its intentions to a power as interested and at 
the same time as friendly as the United States. I desired to know whether an 
understanding had been arrived at between Spain, France, and England, as to an 
intervention in Mexico, and what were the objects of that intervention. 

Mr. Calderon replied that he had no information as to the intentions of Eng- 
land and France, except from newspaper statements, and that neither her Ma- 
jesty's representatives near the courts of France and England, nor the French 
and English legations here, had communicated with him on the subject. He 
was, however, bound to say that the present government of Mexico had given 
her C^atholic Majesty's government just cause to complain. It had driven her 
Majei^ty's ambassador from the city of Mexico on groundless pretexts, and 
openly refused to fulfil treaty obligations solemnly stipulated by the preceding 
government of the Mexican republic. Spain was therefore amply justified in 
resorting to warlike mcasvu-es for the redress of these grievances, but she had 
forborne so long in order not to expose herself to the imputation of interfering 
in favor of one of the political parties existing in the Mexican republic. It was, 
indeed, most desirable that the institutions of Mexico should be placed upon a 
solid and pcnnancnt basis, and tliat a government be established which might 
be relied upon to fulfil its treaty obligations and to do justice to foreign powers. 

But it liad always been a ruling principal with her Majesty's government not 
to interfere with the internal affairs of any state or nation. As to France and 
England he was inclined to think that they would act promptly and vigorously, 



220 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

and in that case it would be impossible for Spain to remain idle. If, however, 
Spain did take part in tliis intervention, it would be solely for the redress of her 
grievances, and not for the purpose of imposing new institutions upon the Mexi- 
can people against their own will. 

I then gave Mr. Calderon to understand that enterprises like this, if under- 
taken Avithout an understanding among all parties interested, were apt to lead to 
serious misunderstandings and difficulties, and he replied the European powers 
engaged in this matter, well knowing the interest the United States take in 
everything that concerns Mexico, would endeavor to come to an agreement 
(se mettre d'accord) Avith the United States government, and at all events, as 
far as Spain was concerned, we might rely upon her frankness and loyalty. 

A large majority of the journals I have seen express themselves in favor of 
the measure, and I am inclined to think the war, if undertaken, will be popular 
with the Spanish people. 

I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

C. SCHURZ. 

Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Schurz to Mr. Seward. 



No. 17.] Legation of the United States, 

San Ildefonso, September 14, 1861. 

Sir : On reading my despatch. No. 15, containing a report of my conversa- 
tion with Mr. Calderon Collantes on the subject of Mexican affairs to this gen- 
tleman, he requests me to state to you a little more explicitly that his languf^|,, 
in respect to endeavoring to come to an understanding with the United Statfegf 
must be understood as having reference only to the case that Spain, in cori^ 
nexion with France and England, should at any time conceive the project of , 
interfering with the internal affairs and governmental instructions of that M 
republic, in which case she would endeavor to come to an understanding or^fff 
this subject with the United States. But she (Spain) claims and reserves th^^ 
right to keep peace or to go to war with Mexico for the redress of her owdl 
grievances, without any previous understanding with the government of 'th^ 
United States ; our government having been already informed, since the^imJ 
of Mr. Dodge, that Spain had grievances to settle with Mexico which migt^ 
make armed hostilities against that republic necessary. But that Spain, if thesi 
were undertaken, would go to that country solely Avith the object of redressing 
these grievances, and with no idea of conq^uest or forcibly changing the form of 
government there established. / 

I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

0. SOH^Z. 

Hon. William H, Seward, § 

Secretary of State, Washington. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz. 



No. 37.] Department of State, 

Washington, October 14, 1861. 

Sir : The attitudes which Spain, France, and Great Britain are assuming 
towards Mexico have excited a very deep interest on the part of the United 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 221 

States. Toil have given us what information you possess on tlie subject in 
your despatclies Nos. 15, 16, and 17. Nevertheless, the objects and the character 
of the hostilities which Spain meditates against Mexico are only very imperfectly 
understood by us, though we do not doubt the entire frankness of the Spanish 
government in the communications it has made to you. We can well enough 
imagine that the Spanish government had not matured its own plans at the 
time when the conversations relating to them occurred between Mr. Calderon 
Collantes and yourself, and it seems still more probable that those plans might 
receive modifications at any time upon ascertaining the pin-poses and views of 
Great Britain and France in jegard to expeditions of their own against Mexico. 
I proceed, in the midst of this uncertainty, to give you the views and senti- 
ments of the United States in regard to the expeditions in c[uestion, that you 
may make them known to Mr. Calderon Collantes. 

The United States desire to be distinctly understood as deeming the freedom, 
integrity, and independence of Mexico important to the welfare of the Mexican 
people. 

The United States, by reason of their position as a neighbor of Mexico, and 
the republican form of their constitution, similar to that of Mexico, deem it im- 
portant to their own safety and welfare that no European or other foreign power 
shall subjugate that country and hold it as a conquest, establishing there a gov- 
ernment of whatever form, independent of the voluntary choice of its people. 

The United States, however, do not question the right of Spain, or of France, 
or Great Brij;ain, to levy war against Mexico for the redress of injuries sustained 
by the invading state, and of the justice of the war such state may rightfully 
judge for herself. 

Fourthly. The United States do not question the right of the invading states 
to combine as allies. 

The United States having had some reason to suppose that the ground of the 
hostilities which Great Britain and France are preparing to institute against 
Mexico is the sequestration of the commercial revenues of that country, which 
had been pledged to the payment of the interest due upon bonds of the Mexican 
government held by subjects of Great Britain and France, have made overtures 
to those two powers and to Mexico, to relieve the controversy by assuming the 
payment of the interest on those bonds for a term of years. Thus far we have 
no answer from either party to that proposition. 

We do not understand the grievances which Spain alleges against Mexico 
well enough to enable us to make any direct overtures to Spain in behalf of 
Mexico or to Mexico herself; but you will take an early opportunity to read 
this despatch to Mr. Calderon Collantes, whereby he may be assured of our 
desire, with the consent of the parties, to intervene with the tender of our good 
offices, and to express a willingness, but in no case without such assent, to 
assume some responsibility and incur some sacrifice to avert the necessity of a 
war between two nations, both of which, we trust, in common with the United 
States, would desire to remain at peace if they could do so consistently with 
their own convictions of honor and justice. 

The declai'ations made by Mr. Calderon Collantes to you, as you have, with 
his consent, reported them to us, that if Spain should agree to enter into any 
arrangements with Great Britain and France, concerning any proceedings against 
Mexico, which might affect the political organization of that republic, she would 
seasonably consult us upon the subject; and that if she shall determine to pro- 
ceed alone against Mexico, she will do so only to obtain a redress of grievances 
without any purpose or end of conquest, or of afiecting the political relations of 
Mexico, are satisfactory to the President on the points thus presented, while 
they, at the same time, induce us to hope that the proposition, which on our 
behalf is now submitted, will be received in the friendly spirit in which it is 
made. 



222 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

I will add only that in any case, whetlier Spain shall proceed alone or in con- 
junction with other jjowers in her hostilities to Mexico, on account of the near- 
ness of that country to our own, we shall expect the utmost care to be taken on 
her part that no rights of American citizens in Mexico, nor any rights of this 
government in territories contiguous to the seat of war, shall be disturbed or 
affected. With that view we shall always have a naval force near the scene 
of possible conflict. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAKD. 

Carl Schurz, Esq., ^c, ^., S^c. 



Mr. Seivard to Mr. ScJiurz. 



No. 38.] Department of State, 

WasMngton, October 14, 1861. 

Sir: Your despatches of September 20, No. 20, and of September 21, No. 21, 
have just been received. I have anticipated the subject in a communication which 
will go simultaneously with this acknowledgment. I forbear from giving you 
the information of the proceedings in Great Britain, on the subject of affairs in 
Mexico, which I have received, because you are nearer London, and are prob- 
ably at all times earlier informed of what occurs there than this government is, 
I am, sii', your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H, SEWARD. 
Carl Schurz, Esq., 8fc., Sfc, Sfc. 



Mr. Schurz to Mr. Seward. 



No. 26.] Legation of the United States, 

Madrid, October, 4, 1861. 

Sir : The n^otiations between England, France, and Spain, relative to the 
expedition against Mexico, have not led to any positive result so far, and it 
appears somewhat doubtful whether they ever will. What I learn about them, 
through the public papers, and through my channels of private information, 
seems to confirm the correctness of the views I expressed in my despatch No. 
21. As I predicted, England, desiring to limit the expedition to a mere collec- 
tion of port duties, stands on one, and France and Spain, having further objects 
in view, on the other side. I had a conversation with Sir John Oramj)ton to- 
day, in the course of which he assixred me that he had no doubt England would 
firmly maintain the ground she had taken, and peremptorily refuse to engage in 
any enterprise beyond a mere redress of grievances. The semi-official journals 
of Madrid are declaiming fiercely against the selfish and narrow-muided policy 
advocated by the English press. 

England, it seems, demands that, while the negotiations are going on, Spain 
shall suspend her preparations for the expedition. The ministerial papers have 
alternately stated that this request would be acceded to, and that the prepara- 
tions would be pushed on with the utmost vigor. I am informed to-day, in a 
private way, that orders have been sent to the captain general of Cuba to sus- 
pend operations, and to delay the sending of agents into the Mexican territory 
until otherwise directed. But I am inclined to thiuk, whatever she may be 
obliged to do at present to please her allies, she will not abandon her projects unless 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 223 

gi'eat changes at home should modify the character of her government. At all 
events, I would suggest to you that it will be necessary to watch her movements 
iu the western hemisphere as closely as possible. 

I am infoi-med that Miramon, who has been living at Paris for some time, is 
shortly expected here. There can hardly be any doubt as to what he will come 
for. 

I have solicited an interview with Mr. Calderon for the purpose of question- 
ing him as to the plan the Spanish government means to carry out in Mexico. 
I shall send my report by next mail, 

I am, &ir, your obedient servant. 



Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



C. SCHURZ. 



Mr. Schurz to Mr. Seward. 



No. 27.] Legation of the United States, 

Madrid, October 9, 1861. 

Sir : Yesterday I had a conversation with Mr. Calderon OoUantes, of which 
I will give* you the principal points. I do not deem it necessary to write out a 
full report, partly because it was of a rather desultory character, and partly be- 
cause we shall have to go over the same ground again, and then in a more 
formal manner, as soon as your despatch. No. 30, with accompanying documents, 
of which I have, to my great surprise, received notice through Mr. Calderon, 
will be in my hands. 

I reminded Mr. Calderon of our conversation at St. Udefonso concerning the 
intervention of Spain in Mexico, and added that, as it now seemed to be gener- 
ally conceded that Spain intended to go beyond a mere redress of grievances, I 
desired to be informed by him what the plans of the Spanish government were. 
The government of the United States had a right to expect that no friendly 
power would undertake to effect important changes in a country bordering on 
the United States without consulting the government at "Washington. 

Mr. Calderon assured me that Spain intended nothing but to obtain satisfac- 
tion for the wrongs inflicted upon her by Mexico ; that it was, indeed, very de- 
sirable that a solid government should be established there capable of giving 
guarantees for future good behavior, but that their internal arrangements should 
be left to the free choice of the Mexican people. On this point he confined 
himself to the assurances given me at San Ildefonso, and I may add that I give 
to those assurances the same interpretation. 

I questioned him as to the progress of the negotiation between Spain, France, 
and England, and he replied that these negotiations had not yet come to a close ; 
that Spain would wait a reasonable time, and that if within that time no agree- 
ment on a plan of joint action had been arrived at, Spain Avould act alone ; that 
meanwhile orders had been sent to the captain general of Cuba to suspend, or 
rathei- not to commence, active operations, but that the preparations for the ex- 
pedition were carried on with great activity, thus confimiing the report I gave 
you in my despatch No. 26. 

I asked him whether Spain intended to disembark troops and to operate in 
the interior of the Mexican republic. He replied that this was a military matter, 
of which he knew nothing. (There is, however, no doubt that such is the plan 
of the govcrimicnt.) He add(;d that England had made the proposition to invite 
the United States to take part in the enterprise, and that Spain had seconded 
the proposition. He intimated that France was not in favor of it, and I doubt 



224 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

whetlier Spain is sincerely so. I addressed a letter to Mr. Dayton, informing 
him of this circumstance, and suggesting the propriety of speaking to Mr. Thou- 
venel about it. 

The only comment I have to offer on Mr. Oalderon's remarks is, that I deem 
the utmost vigilance on the part of the United States in the direction indicated 
in my despatch, No. 22, as necessary as ever, although the resistance offered by 
England may have rendered the execution of the plans entertained by the court 
of Spain more difficult than was at first anticipated. A skilful intrigue in 
Mexico, successfully carried through, might still render the Spanish government 
master of the situation. 

The preparations for the expedition are not carried on as rapidly as was ex- 
pected. The frigates Leattaci and Concepcion, which were to have sailed on 
October 1, are now announced to sail on October 13. 

I am, sir, with the greatest respect, your obedient servant, 

C. SCHURZ. 

Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Sclmrz. 



No. 42.] Department of State, 

Washington, October 28, 1861. 
Sir : Tour despatch of October 4, No. 26, has been received. 
The information which it gives us concerning the progress of the movement 
from Spain against Mexico is important as well as interesting. But it seems 
proper to reserve instructions until the result of your expected interview Avith 
Mr. Calderon Oollantes shall be known here. 
I am, sir, your ©bedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
Carl Schurz, Esq., <^., ^c, ?^c. 



Mr. Sc/mrz to Mr. Seward. 



No. 29.] Legatioxn of the United States, 

Madrid, October 15, 1861. 

Sir : General Miramon, ex-president of the Mexican republic, arrived here a 
few days ago, accompanied by his family and a few Mexicans. I have endeavored 
to learn as much as possible about his movements and plans, and ascertained the 
following : 

Miramon has had interviews with Mr. Calderon Collantes, General Narvaez, 
and several prominent statesmen, and it is very probable that there exists an 
understanding between him and the Spanish government. 

In two or three days he will leave Madrid for Cadiz, and sail thence, as he 
and his friends say, directly for Mexico. He professes to be in great haste, and 
conversations between him and his friends, which have been reported to me, put 
it beyond a doubt that the object of his voyage is a political one. What this 
object is I have not been able to ascertain. He expresses himself frankly about 
the impossibility of maintaining a republic in Mexico, and says that it will be 
necessary to adopt another form of government. His idea is, that a constituent 
congress shall be convoked for the purpose of voting a constitutional monarchy 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 225 

and electing a king. This agrees with a plan which is now exteusivelj discussed 
in the Spanish press. 

It may be the policy of the Spanish government to avail itself of Miramon in 
Mexico, as it availed itself of Santana in San Domingo, although for a different 
object. The ministerial journals continue to indulge in high sounding declama- 
tions about the "mission of Spain" in Mexico, and some of them in bitte^ in- 
vectives against England. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

C. SOHUEZ. 
Hon. William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Scliurz to Mr. Seward. 



No. 36.] Legation of the United States, 

Madrid, November 3, 1861. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches Nos. 35, 
36, 37, and 38. 

Immediately upon their arrival, I called upon Mr. Calderon Collantes, and 
read to him your despatch No. 37. I hasten to write for to-day's mail a short 
account of the conversation which followed. 

Mr. Calderon expressed himself mu.ch gratified with the general tone of the 
despatch and the friendly intentions entertained by the government of the United 
States. He added that he had no knowledge of the proposition submitted by 
the United States to France and England. Spain was at present unable to en- 
tertain any offer of mediation between herself and Mexico ; for the convention 
for joint action had just been signed by the representatives of the three powers, 
and Spain was not at liberty to act alone. Moreover, she had declined a similar 
offer made to her by France and England at the time when her resolution to 
proceed to hostilities had been made public. The financial question pending 
between Spain and Mexico might indeed have been arranged by mediation, but 
the point of honor, and especially the question of the guarantees to be given by 
Mexico for the rights and security of Spanish subjects residing in that republic, 
could not be settled by any mediation. Spain could not be satisfied with any 
reparation of affronts suffered or any guarantees for the security of her subjects 
unless they came in a direct way from the Mexican government itself. 

I then endeavored, by putting questions and volunteering suggestions, to 
obtain from Mr. Calderon an explanation of the nature of the guarantees and 
reparations demanded by Spain, and of the manner in which they were to be 
obtained. 

I asked Mr. Calderon whether Spain would make any formal and distinct 
demands on Mexico. Mr. Calderon replied by recounting the history of the out- 
rages suffered by Spanish subjects at the hands of Mexicans and of the promises 
made by the Mexican government that the repetition of such outrages should be 
prevented. But the outrages had been repeated, again and again, and it was 
now the duty of Spain to see to it, that a state of things be established in Mexico 
which would afford sufficient protection and security to Spanish subjects. 

I asked in what way Spain expected to bring about such a state of things in 
Mexico, since it seemed that Spain did not consider the present government of 
that republic able to give sufficient guarantees. Mr. Calderon replied that Spain 
did not mean to impose a new government upon Mexico ; but that the appear- 
ance of the combined expedition in the Mexican waters, and the occupation of 
Vera Cruz and Tampico, would probably produce a moral effect sufficiently 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 15 



226 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

great to induce tlie Mexican people to rally around some man of power and au- 
thority capable of placing the government of that country upon a solid basis. 
It might, for instance., give new strength and a new impulse to the conservative 
party in Mexico, and enable it to establish a strong government. 

I interposed the question, whether it was true, as the newspapers stated, that 
the .allied powers intended to procure the convocation of a kind of constitutional 
convention in Mexico, and to constitute, in this way, a new government. Mr. 
Calderon replied that this . plan had been discussed by the three powers, but 
that it had been definitively rejected. 

I then asked in what way Spain meant to obtain her guarantees, in case the 
appearance of the combined expedition in the Mexican waters should not pro- 
duce the anticipated moral effect on the Mexican people. Mr. Calderon replied, 
that the Spanish government had not fixed upon any definite plan of action to 
be carried out in that emergency. In general, the action of Spain would depend 
very much upon circumstances. Plenipotentiaries would be sent out with the 
expedition, and they would receive powers ample enough to shape their action 
according to emergencies. 

I remarked that emergencies might arise which might render mediation be- 
tween the three powers and Mexico admissible on the spot, and I had no doubt 
that the government of the United States would extend the tender of its good 
offices to such a case ; I asked, therefore, whether Spaia would empower her pleni- 
potentiary to accept such tender on the spot, if thereby things could be satisfac- 
torily arranged, and warlike measures avoided. 

Mr. Calderon replied that this would not depend upon Spain alone ; that the 
three powers would act jointly in every case; and that, therefore, no mediation 
could be accepted, except by common consent. The instructions to be given to 
the plenipotentiaries had, however, not yet been determined upon, and the matter 
might be taken into consideration. Mr. Calderon informed me that the invita- 
tion addressed by the three powers to the United States to accede to this con- 
vention was probably already on its way across the Atlantic, and that a good 
understanding was desired and anticipated. He added that in no case would 
Spain force a new form of government upon the Mexican people, nor would she 
suffer any other poAver to do so. He would, in this respect, be satisfied with the 
choice of the Mexican people, and it was indifferent to her whether they would 
establish a monarchy or preserve a republican form of government. 

Mr. Calderon infonned me further that all the papers relating to this affair 
would be submitted to the cortes, whose session will commence on the 8th instant, 
and that the policy of the government will be distinctly defined in the Queen's 
speech. * ^. * * * * * 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

0. SCHUKZ. 
Hon. "William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, Washington, D. G. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz, 



No. 48.] , Department of State, 

Washington, November 9, 1861. 

Sir: Tour despatch of October 15 (No. 29) has been received. It is very 
interesting, and the information is conveys concerning the aspect of the Mexican 
question that presents itself to the public of Madrid is important. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant. 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 
Carl Schurz, Esq., &'c„ d-c, &c., Madrid. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 227 



Mr. Schurz to Mr. Seward. 

No. 38.] Legation of the United States, 

Madrid, November 7, 1861. 

SiE : 111 my despatch No. 29, dated October 15, I gave yon Bome informa- 
tion concerning the movements of General Miramon. The statement that he 
would sail for Mexico from Cadiz has proved incoi-rect. He did, indeed, go to 
Cadiz with that intention, but for some reason, which I have not been able to 
ascertain, he returned to Madrid. Here he was received by General O'Donnell, 
and several other public men, with great distinction. He appeared publicly in 
O'Donnell's staff at the late field manoeuvres of the garrison of Madrid. I am 
informed he will soon go to Paris, and then sail for Mexico. That there is an 
understanding between him and the leading men of the Spanish government 
as to the object of the expedition against Mexico can hardly be doubted. 
I am, su', your obedient servant, 

C. SCHURZ. 
Hon, William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, WasJiington, D. C. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz. 



No. 51.] Department op State, 

Washington, November 11, 1861. 
Sm : Your despatch of September 27 (No. 22) has been received, I have 
abeady advised you to the extent of our knowledge concerning the intentions 
of France and Great Britain in regard to the Mexican question. Thus far, we 
have not any direct communication from the government of either of those coun- 
tries. It seems, therefore, only necessary for me to add, that the position you 
have taken upon that subject, as you have made it known to me, seeing to be 
judicious and is approved. 

I am, sii', your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 
Carl Schurz, Esc[., <^c., ^-c., 4^. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz. 



No. 56?^ Department of State, 

Washington, November 23, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatch of November 3 (No. 36) has been received. We are 
expecting daily direct communications from the Spanish, French, and British 
governments concerning then designs against Mexico. 

Your proceedings in the matter, and your conversation with Mr. Calderon 
Collantes upon it, were judicious, and the tone of his replies was frank and liberal. 

We wish a continuance of peace for Mexico only less than we desire a return 
of peace with miion for ourselves. Withoiit seeing just now what we can do 
to promote the former object, we shall persevere in our labors in that dkection. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWAUD. 

Oarl Schurz, Esq., (S:c., &c., &c. 



228 THE PRESENT CONDITION OP MEXICO. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz. 

iq'o. 59.1 Department of State, 

Washington, December 6, 1861. 

Sir : Your despatcli of tlie 7tli of November, No. 38, has been duly received. 
The prudence and diligence wlaicb you have exercised in keeping us well in- 
formed in regard to the subject of the policy of Spain towards Mexico are very 
highly appreciated. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



Carl Schurz, Esq., 8fc., Sfc., Sfc. 



Mr. Seward to Mr. Schurz. 



No. 60.] Department of State, 

Washington, December 11, 1861. 

Sir: Your despatch of November 14 (No. 41) has been received. 

The light it throws upon the position of Spain, her sovereign, court, and 
general, in regard to Mexico, is exceedingly interesting, and I trust that we 
shall be able to make it useful. 

I am charged by the Pressident to express his decided approbation of the 
paper. 

You will receive herewith a copy of my reply to the plenipotentiaries of the 
three powers on the subject of Mexico. We expect hourly to hear from Mr. 
Corwin, when we shall be able, perhaps, to foUow up the policy indicated in 
that communication. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 

Carl Schurz, Esq., S^., &fc., S^c. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



229 



OOREESPONDENOE 



EESPECTINQ 



THE AFFAIES OF MEXICO, 



PEESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF PAELIAMENT BY COMMAND OP RES MAJESTY.— 1862. 



TABLE OP CONTENTS. 



No. 



4 
5 

6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

11 
12 

13 

14 

15 

16 



17 
18 



From whom and to 
whom. 



Date. 



To Sir C. Wyke. 
do- 



Mr. Mathew 



.do. 



.do. 



To Sir C. Wyke. 



Mr. Mathew 
Sir C. Wyke.. 



-do. 



-do. 



-do. 



1861. 
Mar. 30 
AprU 17 
Mar. 26 



April 6 

April 19 

May 30 

May 12 

May 27 



.—do..., 
June 24 

.—do.... 



.do. 



.do. 



.do. 



To Sir C. Wyke. 
do 



Sir C. Wyke. 
do.... 



June 25 
June 27 

June 28 

Aug. 21 
.-..do—. 



July 11 
July 26 



Subject. 



Instructions on proceeding to Mexico. 

Murder of Mr. Bodmer. To demand redress. 

Enclosing a note from Senor Zarco, the minister 
for foreign affairs, offering to secure religious 
liberty to foreigners in Mexico. 

Correspondence with Seuor Zarco relative to Brit- 
ish claims. Observations. 

Proposed settlement of the claim of Dr. Duval's 
family by a grant of nationalized property. 
He has accepted it. 

Approval of proceedings with regard to the claim 
of Dr. Duval's family. 

General state of affairs. Arrival of Sir C. Wyke. 

Conversation with Sefior Guzman respecting the 
legation robbery. Government not prepared 
to repay the "conducta" money stolen by 
Sefior Degollado. 

Secularization of the church property. Position 
of the government. 

Correspondence with the Mexican government re- 
lative to the robbery of $600,000 belonging to 
the bondholders from the British legation house. 

Correspondence respecting the money taken from 
the Laguna Seca conducta. 

Necessity for employing force to obtain redress 
from the Mexican government. Captain Aid- 
ham's views as to the course to be adopted.^ 

Enclosing an extract from the ' ' Mexican Extra- 
ordinary," giving an account of the outrages on 
British subjects. 

State of the country. Military successes of the 
church party. 

Demands to be made on the Mexican government. 

Her Majesty's government insist on the restora- 
tion of the $660,000 taken from the British 
legation. 

Murder of Mr. H. M. Beale. 

Stoppage of all payments on account of foreign 
debt. Correspondence with the government. 
Suspension of diplomatic relations. 



230 THE PRESKNT CONDITIOlSr OF MEXICO. 

Table of contents — Continued. 



From whom and to 
•whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



SirC. Wyke. 



To Sir C. Wyke. 
Earl Cowley 



To Sir C. Wyke. 



do.... 

Earl Cowley 



do 

Sir J. Crampton 
, do 



Lord Lyons. 



To Sir J. Crampton 



To Earl Cowley 



1861. 
July 28 

Aug. 31 
Sept. 5 



Sept. 10 



-do. 



.do. 



M. Isturiz... 
Earl Cowley. 



To Earl Cowley. 



do 

To Sir J. Crampton. 

To M. Istariz 

To Lord Lyons . - . . 
To SirC. Wyke 



Sept. 17 
Sept. 13 
Sept. 16 

Sept. 10 
Sept. 23 
,...do . 



....do.... 
Sept. 24 

Sept. 27 
....do.... 



.do. 
.do. 



Sept. 28 
...do.... 



Outrages by General Marquez. The country in a 
state of anarchy. 

Approval of his having suspended relations. 

French government will send instructions to their 
minister, M. de Saligny, similar to those sent 
to Sir C. Wyke. Proposal that Spain should be 
invited to join in the proposed proceedings. 

Her Majesty's government must hold the Mexican 
nation responsible for outrages on British sub- 
jects. 

Approval of his conduct. Instructions as to 
breaking off relations. 

Spanish government intend to occupy Vera Cruz 
and Tampico, but will act in concert with Eng- 
land and France. 

Explanations from the Spanish minister as to the 
intentions of his government. 

Views of the Spanish government with regard to 
Mexico. 

Expedition in preparation to act against Mexico. 
Spain desirous of joining Great Britain and 
France. 

Proposed convention between the United States 
and Mexico, by which the former were to pay 
the interest on the foreign debt in considera- 
tion of certain grants of land, &c. 

Rights on Vera Cruz and Tampico custom-houses 
secured to the British government. Will Spain 
wait till France and Great Britain have agreed 
upon their plan of operations ? 

Despatch from M. Thouvenel communicated by 
M. de Flahault. Proposal to seek the co-opera- 
tion of the United States. Her Majesty's gov- 
ernment wish to act in concert with the French 
governmen,t. 

Intentions of Spain towards Mexico. Advantage 
of the joint action of the three powers. 

French government request to know the plan of 
action proposed by the British government. 
Objections to any plan for the United States 
undertaking to pay the interest on the foreign 
debt. 

Explanation received from Mr. Adams as to the 
proposals the United States government wishes 
to make in regard to Mexico. Counter pro- 
position made to him. 

Enclosing a copy of Sir J. Crampton' s despatch of 
the 13th instant. 

Conditions considered essential in any joint inter- 
vention in Mexico. 

Her Majesty's government will consider the pro- 
posals of the Spanish government. 

Conversation with Mr. Adams. To speak in the 
same sense to Mr. Seward. 

In case of leaving Mexico to keep in communi- 
cation with Admiral Milne. Instructions not 
yet determined ou. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 
Table of contents — Contimied. 



231 



From whom and to 
whom. 




Subject. 



SirC. Wyke... 
, do 

do 

do 

do 

- do 

To Earl Cowley 

Earl Cowley .. 

To Earl Cowley 



To Sir J. Crampton . 
Sir J. Crampton 

do 

Earl Cowley . 

To Earl Cowley 

Earl Cowley 

Sir J. Crampton 

Lord Lyons 

SirC. Wyke. 

To admiralty 

Lord Lyons - 

To admiralty 

To SirC. Wyke 

To Earl Cowley 

To SirC. Wyke 



1861. 
Aug. 8 

Auar. 12 



Aug. 23 



Aug. 24 



Aug. 26 
Aug. 27 
Sept. 30 



Oct 
Oct, 



....do.... 
Sept. 21 

Sept, 24 



Oct. 10 
Oct. 12 



Oct. 18 
Oct. 9 



Oct 14 

Sept 29 
Oct. 30 
Oct 17 

Oct 31 

....do-... 

Nov. 1 
....do.-.. 



Letter addressed to Seiior Zamacona justifying the 
suspension of relations. 

Enclosing extract fi'om "Estafette," giving au 
account of the trial of the perpetrators of the 
legation robbery. 

Progress of events. Attempt on the life of the 
Freucli minister. Correspondence with the 
government. 

Enclosiug a decree imposing a tax of 1 per cent, 
on capital. Correspondence with British mer- 
chants. 

History of the British convention fund. 

State of affairs. 

Objections to forcible interference in the internal 
affairs of Mexico. 

Opinion expressed by M. Thouvenel as to inter- 
ference in Mexico. 

The Queen prepared to enter into a convention 
with France and Spain with regard to Mexico. 
United States to be invited also to give their 
adhesion. 

To propose a joint convention as above. 

Views of Marshal O'Donnell as to seeking the co- 
operation of the United States. He disclaims 
any intention of reconquering Mexico. 

Spanish government will respect the r^hts of 
Great Britain on the Vera Cruz and Tampico 
customs. 

French government ready to join the convention. 

Consider an engagement not to interfere by force 
in the internal policy of Mexico essential to 
the convention. 

Convention to be negotiated in London. 

Spanish government ready to sign a joint con- 
vention as to the establishment of an improved 
form of government in Mexico. 

Interview with Mr. Seward. Views of her majes- 
ty's government respecting Mexico communi- 
cated to him. 

State of affairs. Probable effects of foreign in- 
tervention. 

Reinforcements to be sent to the North American 
and West Indian squadron. 

Mr. Seward still anxious that the plan proposed 
by the United States for the payment of the 
foreign debt should be adopted. 

Naval force to be despatched to Vera Cruz. In- 
structions to be given to Admiral Milne and 
Maitland. Plan of operations. 

Enclosing convention signed with French and 
Spanish ministers. To act as British commis- 
sioners. Instructions. 

Enclosing a copy of the instructions to Sir C. 
Wyke. 

To proceed to Jamaica and join Admiral Milne. 
Further instructions to be sent. 



232 



THE PEESENT COMDITION OF MEXICO. 
Table of contents — Continued. 



From whom and to 
whom. 



Date. 



Subject. 



To Earl Cowley. 



To Sir J. Crampton. .. 

To Earl Cowley 

To Sir J. Crampton. .. 

ToSirC. Wyke 

Admiralty 

To Earl Cowley 

To Sir J. Crampton . . . 



To admiralty 

Sir J. Crampton . . 
To admiralty 



1861. 
Nov. 1 

...do.... 
...do-... 
...-do.... 

do 

....do.... 
...-do.... 

...-do.... 

...-do.... 



Earl Cowley 



.do. 



....do.... 
Nov. 6 

Nov. 5 



-do. 



.do. 



-do. 



To Lord Lyons , 
To admiralty.., 



.do. 



80 To Sir C. Wyke. 



do 

To admiralty. 



Earl Cowley 

To Earl Cowley, 
To admiralty . . 



Earl Cowley 

Sir J. Crampton. 



Sir C. Wyke. 
do.... 



To Sir J. Crampton. 



Nov. 6 
Nov. 7 

Nov. 8 

Nov. 15 
....do.... 



....do.... 
Nov. 14 
Nov. 16 

Nov. 18 

Nov. 19 
..-.do.... 

Oct. 28 
..--do..., 



Nov. 28 



Enclosing convention. -Instructions to be sent to 
Sir C. Wyke. 

Do. do. 

Draft of further instructions to Sir C. Wyke. 

Enclosing draft of further instructions to Sir C. 
Wyke. 

Instruction as to interference in the internal 
affairs of Mexico. 

Proposed rendezvous for allied fleets. 

Enclosing a copy of the above. M. de Flahaulfc 
informed. 

Enclosing a copy of the above. M. Isturiz in- 
formed. 

Arrangements for conveyance of Sir C. Wyke. 

Spanish force to be sent to Mexico. 

Arrangements with regard to the French expe- 
ditionary force. 

M. de Saligny to be French commissioner and 
joint plenipotentiary with the French admiral. 
His instructions being prepared. 

French government concur in draft of further 
instructions to Sir C. Wyke. 

French government concur as to rendezvous. 
Amount of French force. 

Enclosing copy of convention. To invite the ad^ 
hesion of the United States government. 

Suggesting that the date of rendezvous should be 
settled by Admiral Milne with the French and 
Spanish commanders. 

In case of difference of opinion with regard to 
the negotiations, the opinions of Sir C. Wyke 
to prevail over that of Admiral Milne. 

In case of operations against the capital, the 
British force not to advance beyond Vera Cruz. 

As to operations on the Pacific coast. 

Instructions to be sent to Admiral Maitland as to 
operations on the Pacific coast. 

Probability of the Spanish expedition having 
already started. 

Copies of despatches to Sir C. Wyke and to ad- 
miralty of the 15th instant. 

Enclosing copy of despatch from Earl Cowley of 
the 14th instant. 

French expedition to stop at Teneriffe. 

Appointment of General Prim as Spanish com- 
mander-in-chief and plenipotentiary. 

Monthly report on the state of affairs. 

Negotiations with the Mexican government. Pro- 
posed convention for the settlement of British 
demands. 

Informing him of Sir C. Wyke's negotiations. 
Her Majesty's government consider that the 
joint convention affords greater security for 
the due fulfilment of any Mexican engage- 
ments. What are the terms the Spanish gov- 
ernment will require ? 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 
Tahle of contents — Continued. 



233 



No. 


From whom and to 
whom. 


Date. 


Subject. 






1861. 




91 


To Earl Cowley 


Dec. 2 


Similar to the above. What are the terms the 
French government will require ? 


92 


do 


Dec. 4 


Reduced force to be sent to Mexico. 


93 


To Sir J. Crampton 


...do.... 


Similar to the above. 


91 


Earl Cowley 


Dec. 3 


Terms to be demanded to be left to the decision 
of the French commissioners. 


95 


Lord Lyons. ____-_.. 


Nov. 29 


Delay in presenting the convention to the United 
States government in consequence of the Span- 














ish minister not having received his full powers 








and instructions. 


96 


do 


Dec 3 


Copy of note enclosing the convention, and in- 
viting the adherence of the United States gov- 
ernment. 


97 


Sir J. Crampton 


Dea 10 


Spanish government informed of the reduced 
force to be sent to Mexico. 


98 


do 


Dec. 15 


Demands to be made by Spanish government on 
Mexico. 


99 


M, Istmiz. .._._... 


Dec. 22 


Explanation respecting the sailing of the Spanish 
expedition from Cuba. The commander in- 














structed to act in concert with the forces of the 








allies. 


100 


To Sir J. Crampton... 


Dec. 24 


Copy of the above. 


101 


do 


....do.... 


Sir C. Wyke to communicate to the Spanish com- 
missioners the terms of the British demands. 


102 


Lord Lyons. -.-.-... 


Dec. 6 


Note from Mr. Seward refusing to accede to the 
joint convention. 








103 


do 


Dec. 9 


Copy of a joint note acknowledging Mr. Seward's 

note. 
Acknowledging note of 2 2d instant. 


104 


ToM. Isturiz 


Dec. 24 


105 


To Sir J. Crampton 


Dec. 27 


Copies of despatches from Lord Lyons of the 3d, 
6 th, and 9 th instant. 


106 


SirC. Wyke 


Nov. 25 


Progress of his negotiations Convention signed 
with government, but thrown out by congress. 








107 


do 


Nov. 28 


Address from British merchants and his reply. 


108 


do 


....do.... 


Reported intrigues of General Doblado. 


109 


do 


....do.... 


Proposed proceedings in consequence of the rejec- 
tion of the convention. Has presented the 






1862. 


British ultimatum. 


110 


Admiralty ...... .... 


Jan. 2 


Particulars respecting the Spanish expedition. 






1861. 


111 


Lord Lyons....- . 


Dec. 21 


Proceedings of the United States minister in 
Mexico. 






1862. 


112 


M. Isturiz. 


Jan. 13 


Instructions given by governor-general of Cuba 
to the commander of the Mexican expedition. 








113 




Jan. 16 


Receipt of tlie above. Cannot understand why 
Spanish expedition did not await the arrival of 
the British and French forces. 


114 


Earl Cowley 


Jan. 17 


French expedition to be reinforced. 


115 


M. Isturiz 


Jan. 18 


Further explanations respecting the Spanish ex- 
pedition. 








lie 


To Earl Cowley 


Jan. 20 


Interview with M. de Flahault. French rein- 
forcements to be sent. No further British force 
will be detached for Mexico. 


117 


ToM. Isturiz 


Jan. 23 


Not satisfied with his explanations, but accept 
the assurance that the Spanish government will 
observe the terms of the joint convention. 



234 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 
Table of contents — Continued. 



No. 


From whom and to 
whom. 


Date. 


Subject. 

• 


118 
119 
120 

1?! 


To Sir J. Crampton 

Earl Cowley 

ToSirCWyke 

Sir C. Wyke. 


1862. 
Jan. 19 

Jan. 24 

Jan. 27 

1861. 
Dec. 14 

Dec 29 

....do.... 


Representations to be made respecting the Span- 
ish expedition. 

Kumor respecting Archduke Maximilian being 
made king of Mexico. 

Instructions as to any change of the Mexican gov- 
ernment. Measures to be taken on the Pacific 
coast. 

Intends to proceed to Vera Cruz. British inter- 
ests left in charge of the Belgian minister. 

Arrival at Vera Crua. Eeasons for not proceed- 
ing to Jamaica, 

Proceedings of the Spanish at Vera Cruz. Aspect 
of affairs. 


122 
123 


do.. 

do 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 235 

CORRESPOrofflCE EELATIIG TO MEHCM AFFAIES, 



No. 1. 

Lord J. Russdl to Sir C. Wyke. 
[Extract.] 

Foreign Office, March 30, 1861. 

A passage to Vera Ornz haviBg been ordered for you on board tbe contract 
packet appointed to leave Soutbampton on tbe 2d of April, you will embark on 
board tbat vessel, and on your arrival at Vera Cruz proceed at once to Mexico. 
Tou will probably find Mr. Matbew abeady in diplomatic communication with 
^ the constitutional government; for her Majesty's government can hardly doubt 
that it will have willingly acceded to the conditions on which the re-establish- 
ment of friendly intercourse has been made to depend. 

The instructions addressed to Mr. Mathew, both before and since the final 
triumph of the hberal party, made the recognition by Great Britain of the con- 
stitutional government contingent upon the acknowledgment by that govern- 
ment of the liability of Mexico for the claims of British subjects, who, either in 
their persons or in their property, for a long series of years can be proved to 
have suffered wrong at the hands of successive governments in Mexico. 

If Mr. Mathew should not have obtained any such concession from the con- 
stitutional government before your arrival, you must use your own discretion as 
to the time at which you should present your credentials. It is, of course, de- 
sirable that the re-establishment of regular diplomatic intercourse with Mexico 
should not be delayed ; but it might happen that the manifestation ofany undue 
eagerness on your part to bring about such a state of things might encourage 
the constitutional government to withhold the preliminary concession which Mr. 
Mathew was instructed to require. 

Her Majesty's government have all along declared that they had no desire to 
prejudge the quarrel between the two parties who have been long arrayed against 
each other in Mexico, or to side with one party against the other. Had the 
party of General Miramon shown a due regard for international obligations and 
for the rights of British subjects, the British legation would not have been with- 
drawn from the city of Mexico. That step was forced upon her Majesty's gov- 
ernment by continual disregard of the rights of British subjects and of the obli- 
gations of international engagements, which rendered it impossible for her 
Majesty's government to continue to hold relations with the constituted authori- 
ties. But if the newly-estabhshed government should evince a disposition to 
act on different principles, you will state to it, without hesitation, that the 
friendly feelings of her Majesty's government for Mexico have undergone no 
change, notwithstanding the grievous wrongs which British subjects have sus- 
tained at the hands of the successive governments of that republic ; that the 
policy of ^ the British government with regard to Mexico is a policy of non- 
intervention, and that the British government .desire to see Mexico free and in- 
dependent, and in a position to regulate the civil administration of the country, 
to maintain internal peace, and to discharge its international duties without the 
active intervention of any foreign power whatever. Her Majesty's government 
cannot doubt that such assurances as these will induce the Mexican government 
to rely with confidence, on the disinterestedness of any advice or suggestions 
which you may see occasion, to offer to it, though I would caution you against 
obtruding such advice upon it, and still more against entering into any contest 



236 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

witli tlie representative of any other power for exclusive influence over tlie 
councils of tlie government. 

I would, moreover, particularly caution you against taking any part in the 
political questions which may arise between contending parties in the state. A 
British minister 'can never safely interfere in such matters ; but, as the repre- 
sentative of a country possessing liberal institutions, and therefore desiring to 
see other nations enjoying the same blessing, he will always be looked upon 
with respect, and will have more real influence for good in proportion as he keeps 
aloof from the factions or disputes of rival parties in the state. 

Your earliest attention after your arrival in Mexico must be given to th^e 
question of British claims. Tou are aware that it has not been the custom of« 
her Majesty's government, although they have always held themselves free 
to do so, to interfere authoritatively on behalf of those who have chosen to lend 
their money to foreign governments, and the Mexican bondholders have not 
been an exception to this rule. The constitutional government, however, while 
established at Vera Cruz, under the presidency of Senor Juarez, concluded with 
Captain Duulop two years ago an arrangement by which it was stipulated that, 
twenty-five per cent, of the customs receipts at Vera Cruz and Tampico should 
be assigned to the British bondholders, and sixteen per cent, to the holders of 
convention bonds. That convention was confirmed and extended by the ar- 
rangement lately made by Captain Aldham. The claims of the bondholders, 
therefore, to the extent provided for in those aiTangements, have acquired the 
character of an international obligation, and you shoxild accordingly insist upon 
the pimctual fulfilment of the obligations thus contracted. 

The bondholders, moreover, have sixstained a grievous loss by the robbery of 
a large sum of money belonging to them which had been deposited for security 
in the house of her Majesty's legation, and if Mr. Mathew should not have suc- 
ceeded before your aiTival in making a satisfactory arrangement for the early 
restitution of the amount thus plundered, you will insist upon such arrangement , 
being imiiiediately entered into with yourself. Her Majesty's government will 
not admit as an excuse for hesitation in this respect the plea that the robbery 
was committed by the late government ; for as regards this, as indeed all other 
claims, her Majesty's government cannot admit that the party who committed 
the wrong is alone responsible. Great Britain does not recognize any party as 
.constituting the republic in its dealings with foreign nations, but holds -the entire 
republic, by whatever party the government of it may from time to time be ad- 
ministered, to be responsible for wrongs done to British subjects by any party 
or persons at any time administering the powers of government. 

Her Majesty's government do not, indeed, anticipate any determined refusal 
on the part of the constitutional government to afford redress in this particular 
case ; but if you should meet with any such resistance, you will apprise the 
Mexican government that you are authorized and enjoined at once to call upon 
her Majesty's naval forces to support, and, if necessary, to enforce, your demand 
for reparation. The fact that the scene of the outrage was the residence of the 
British mission gives her Majesty's government a special right to enforce repa^ 
ration in this particular case. 

The robbery committed by General Degollado, when acting under the orders 
of the government established at Vera Cruz, on a conducta of specie on its way 
to the coast, in which specie British subjects were largely interested, stands next 
in order as an act of violence for which reparation must be obtained ; and I do 
not doubt that there will be no hesitation hi making good the losses sustained 
by that transaction. 

It is unnecessary for me on this occasion to go through the list of claims of 
British subjects which it will be your duty to press for settlement. Mr. Mathew 
has been instructed to present a list of such claims to the ministers of the re- 
public and to demand a settlement of them. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 237 

Yoti will find on examining this list that the several claims, although diflFer- 
ing in degree, are all of a nature to require reparation, and it will be your duty 
to arrange with the Mexican government the manner in which such reparation 
shall be made. Whatever arrangement you may make should be recorded in a 
convention. For this purpose her Majesty has been pleased to grant you a full 
power under the great seal. 

The general British claims may probably be classed under two heads : those 
the validity of which has been recognized, and idiose the validity of which is 
BtUl to be ascertained. 

As regards the first class, the convention should be confined to providing for 
the manner in which the amounts already agreed upon should be paid ; for her 
Majesty's government will not allow cases already examined and determined to 
be reopened for prospective benefit either of British parties or of the Mexican 
government. 

As regards the second class, the convention should provide for examining the 
claims and for the liquidation of such as may be pronounced valid, either in 
"whole or in part, on the same principle and in the same manner as may be stipu- 
lated in regard to the first class. Whether the examination of such claims shall 
be made by a mixed commission or not must be left to your discretion to de- 
termine. 

As regards the first class of claims, they should be severally specified in the 
convention, with the sums payable in respect of each ; but such enumeration 
will, of course, not be practicable as regards the second class, which must re- 
main open for the insertion of any claims brought forward before a specific day. 

As regards the time at which either class of the claims shall be paid, her 
Majesty's government are aware that some degree of indulgence may be necessary. 
The troubles which have for many years past distracted the republic have, as a 
natural result, impoverished the country, and made it difficult for the constitu- 
tional government to raise at once funds sufficient to provide for the immediate 
wants of the civil administration, and for the liabilities of the country towards 
foreign creditors and claimants. But you must be careful not to allow any tem- 
porary forbearance which you may show in pressing for the liquidation of Brit- 
ish claims to be construed into indifference. So far from that, you will lose no 
opportunity of pointing out the necessity of taking measures for developing the 
resources of the country, on the ground that the result of such development 
will be to supply the treasury not only with the means of meeting the expenses 
of the civil government, but also with those for satisfying all international claims. 

An opinion has got abroad that the constitutional government will probably 
adopt some measure in regard to ecclesiastical property which will place at its 
disposal a large sum of money. 

It is not the part of her Majesty's government to say whether this act should 
be sanctioned or not, but if by any measures of the Mexican government, 
which they consider right and expedient, the public treasur-y should be imme- 
diately or prospectively replenished, her Majesty's government may fairly urge 
that British claimants should have the benefit of such a state of things, and ob- 
tain an earlier settlement of their outstanding claims. 

The only question affecting the internal polity of Mexico, in regard to which 
her Majesty's government would feel warranted in offering advice unsolicited, 
is that of freedom for religious worship. Putting aside all considerations of a 
moral character, which are so strongly in fevor of a general liberty of conscience, 
it is impossible to doubt that Mexico would find great political advantage in 
throwing down the barrier which now prevents Christians of different sects from 
settling in the country, and in thereby encournging the immigration from other 
countries of persons whose activity and skill would contribute to improve the 
resources of the country. 



238 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

I enclose a despatcli on this subject wLicli I addressed to Lord Oowley in 
July last. 

You are so well acquainted with tlie peculiarities of the Spanish character 
that it is needless for me to dilate on the best means of dealing with the people 
with whom you may be brought into contact. They are to be influenced by mod- 
erate language and considerate demeanor, but they resist and defy attempts to 
intimidate or coerce. 

But it may be that with alLyour tact and forbearance you will fail to obtain 
a hearing for well-founded representations on behalf of British subjects ; and 
in such cases you may, by referring quietly to the presence of her Majesty's 
ships-of-war on the coasts of Mexico, leave the Mexican government to infer that 
those ships are available for your support if your just demands should be re- 
jected, or if the engagements entered into with you should be disregarded. 

As regards the question of article 10 of the convention of 1826, you will find 
tliat the construction of that article has been a fruitful source of discussion be- 
tween the two governments, more especially during the rule of General Mirar- 
mon, when forced loans, under one denomination or another, but more usually, 
of late, under that of a tax on capital, were continually attempted to be levied 
on her Majesty's subjects. You will judge how far any overture on jwur part 
far clearing up doubts in regard to this ai'ticle, and for securing for British sub- 
jects exemption from all extraordinary contributions, under whatever denomina- 
tion they may be levied, would meet with a favorable reception on the part of 
tlie Mexican government, and if you see a probability of such being the case, 
you will frame and refer home for consideration the draft of an additional arti- 
cle to the convention of 1826, to which the Mexican government would be 
likely to agree. 

If any differences should arise between the Mexican government and foreign 
powers you will not hesitate to employ such influence as you may possess fox 
preventing those differences from leading to an open rupture. But in taking 
such a course you must be careful not to assume for yourself, or for your gov- 
ernment, any responsibility, and you must avoid any uncalled for assumption of 
mediation. 

With the representatives of foreign states accredited to the republic you will 
eaideavor to live in harmony. You will always bear in mind that neither in 
Mexico nor in any part of the world do her Majesty's government seek any 
eisclusive political influence, nor any commercial advantages which they are 
not ready to share with all the nations of the earth. The only object at which 
they aim is to secure for this country its proper place in the family of nations, 
and their only desire is to employ any influence which Great Britain may pos- 
sess for the promotion of general peace and the development of commercial 
industry. 



Enclosure in No. 1. 

Lord, J. Russell to Earl Cowley. 

[Extract,] 

Foreign Office, July 17, 1860. 

I have to state to yon that her Majesty's goveiiunent do not at all pretend to 
impose religious toleration as a basis in Mexico. 

But it appears to her Majesty's government that to restrict a quiet and obe- 
dient subject of the state from worshipping God in such manner as he thinks 
most acceptable to his Creator, whether alone or in communion with others, is a 
barbaious abuse of power. All that the civil magistrate can ask is obedience 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 239 

in civil matters, and the right of religions freedom is so natural and so obvious 
tliat it is probable Mexico never will be tranquil so long as men are punished 
for entertaining a belief diflferent from that of the government. When, there- 
fore, there is a question of renewing our offer of mediation, her Majesty's gov- 
ej-ment will express in a separate despatch their conviction that a tyranny over 
men's consciences ought to be abandoned by the government of Mexico. 



No. 2. 

Ld)rd J. RmseU to Sir C. WyJce. 

Foreign Office, April 17, 1861. 
Sir : I have received from Mr. Mathew and from her Majesty's consul in Mex- 
ico an account of the barbarous murder of Mr. Edward Bodmer, the British vice 
consul at Tasco, whilst endeavoring to save the life of a Mexican citizen, who 
was assaulted by some soldiers belonging to a section of General Vicario's army. 
I have now to instruct you to urge the Mexican government to spare no efforts 
to brmg the perpetrators of this atrocious outrage to justice, and you will at 
the same time demand ample reparation for the widow ajid family of Mr. Bodmer. 
I am, &c, 

J. EUSSELL. 



No. 3. 
Mr. Mathew to Lord J. Russell, 

Mexico, March 2Q, 1861. 

My Lord : I have received a note, of which I have the honor to enclose a 
translation, from Senor Zarco, expressing the desire of the Mexican government 
to secui-e to her Majesty's subjects in Mexico the rights of worship according 
to their conscience, by an additional, or more correctly I believe, by a separate 
article to the international treaty. 

A shnilar communication has, I understand, been addressed to the ministers 
of the United States and Pi-ussia, who inform me that they entertain no doubt 
that the proposal will be gladly accepted by their respective governments. 

From the class of persons who are likely to be attracted to this country, in 
mining and other pursuits, by the prolongation of peace, I believe that to no 
nation will this privilege be more important than to her Majesty's subjects, and 
I venture to assure myself that your lordship will receive with much satisfac- 
tion the proposal of the Mexican government for insuring this right under the 
guarantee of treaties. 

I havB, &0., 

GEORGE B. MATHEW. 



Enclosure in No. 3. 

S^ior Zarco to Mr. Mathew. 

[Translation.] 

Mexico, March 25, 1861, 
The undersigned, &c-., has the honor to address Mr. Mathew by special com 
Inand of his excellency the president, and to inform him that the constitutional 
government of Me^co is desirous to afford foreigners full protection and security 



240 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

with proper guarantees, and that consequently it is ready to add^an additional 
article to the treaty already existing between Great Britain and Mexico, whereby 
it shall be stipulated that foreigners may carry out freely, publicly, and under 
the protection of the law, their several forms of religion, and worship God ac- 
cording to the dictates of their own conscience. 

The preliminary steps in this matter can be entered upon in this capital, 
should Mr. Mathew be provided with the powers necessary for such transactions ; 
otherwise at the court of St. James, so soon as the representative of Mexico 
shall have presented his credentials. 

The undersigned, &c. 

FRANCISCO ZARCO. 



No. 4. 
Mr. Mathew to Lord J. Rtissel. 

Mexico, April 5, 1861 

My Lord : In a recent and prolonged conversation with Senor Zarco, minis 
ter for foreign affairs, relative to British claims, that gentleman earnestly assured 
me of the desire entertained by his government to meet my just demands on 
behalf of her Majesty's subjects in every manner that the deplorable financial 
condition of Mexico would admit ; and further expi-essed the readiness of the 
Mexican government to do whatever your lordship might deem proper for pre- 
venting a recurrence of the exactions lately suffered by British subjects from 
misinterpi'etation or deficiencies in the international treaty, from which many of 
the existing reclamations have arisen. 

I thought it, therefore, desirable to address him a brief note on these subjects, 
in order to be enabled to submit to your lordship some definite proposals and 
views. 

The unsettled condition and future prospects of Mexico, and the experience 
of the last three years, render it, I feel convinced, of obvious importance that all 
articles of disputed interpretation in the treaty should be clearly defined, and 
that such additions should be made to it as your lordship may think conducive 
to the security of her Majesty's subjects, and to the advantage of British in 
terests. 

I have much pleasure in being able to lay before your lordship, by the en- 
closed translation of Senor Zarco's reply, the official declaration of the desire of 
the Mexican government to meet these objects. 

This government, as your lordship will observe, propose to refer all British 
reclamations, not yet recognized by it, to the examination and final decision of 
a mixed commission, and to assign for the gradual discharge of all English 
claims thus or previously admitted a stated portion of their revenues. 

It is distinctly understood that this proposal which I have now to submit to 
your lordship's consideration has no reference to the special agreement already 
entered into by the Mexican government for the repayment of the British money 
seized in the " conductas " at Lagos and Tampico, nor to the negotiation ia 
progress between the Mexican government and the agent of the bondholders for 
the restoration of the money plundered at this legation. 

Senor Zarco proceeds to state the willingness of his government to define or 
extend, as your lordship may think best, in the usual manner, the privileges to 
be mutually enjoyed by British and Mexican subjects respectively, and makes, 
in the name of the Mexican government, the declaration that they stipulate from 
the present moment for the extension of the right of exemption from forced 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 241 

loans in tlie nintli article to exemption from extraordinary contributions, from 
which her Majesty's subjects have so severely suffered. 

"He observes that he has proposed by a separate note (the subject-matter of 
ray despatch of the 26th of March) to secure to her Majesty's subjects, by a 
separate article, the free right of public worship, and he transmits a copy of the 
now existing law for that object, which I have the honor to enclose. 

I think your lordship will not disapprove of my having thus taken the earliest 
opportunity of bringing these matters to issue. I am not aware of any other 
points in the international treaty calling for notice, except that of intestate 
estates ; but I may at the same time bring to your consideration the questions 
affected by the late proposed and, I imagine, discarded treaty with the United 
States, of any exclusive rights of transit for merchandise or of isthmus juris- 
diction. 

I have, &c. 

GEOKGE B. MATHEW. 



Enclosure 1 ia No. 4. 
Mr. Mathew to BeJior Zarco, 



Mexico, March 22, 1861. 

The undersigned refers with much pleasure to his recent conversation with 
his excellency Senor Don Francisco Zarco respecting some proposed mode of 
liquidation, by mutual arrangement, of the heavy claims of British subjects 
agamst Mexico, and he would be glad to be enabled to transmit, for the con- 
sideration of his government, the views entertained by his excellency and the 
Mexican cabinet. 

The consideration of this subject natui-ally led to remarks upon certain alleged 
doubts with regard to the wording of the present international treaty between 
Great Britain and Mexico, upon infractions of which many of the British claims 
are founded, which his excellency Seiior Zarco informed him had attracted the 
serious consideration of his government. 

The undersigned would have great satisfaction at the same time, therefore, in 
laying before his government any general suggestions which his excellency 
Sefior Zarco may think fit to communicate to him, with the view of securing, 
beyond the possibility of doubt or question, in Great Britain and in Mexico, to 
the natives of each country, the rights and privileges to which the two govern- 
ments have declared them entitled in civil and religious matters. 
The undersigned, &c. 

GEOEGE B. MATHEW. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 4. 

Sefior Zarco to Mr. Matheto. 

[Translation ] 

National Palace, Mexico, MarcJi 27, 1861. 
The undersigned, &c., has the honor of acknowledging the receipt of the note 
which Mr. Mathew, &c., was pleased to address him, under date of the 22d in- 
stant, in which, referring to a recent conversation he had with the undersigned re- 
specting British claims, he expresses a desire to know what are the intentions 
of the Mexican government as to their liquidation and settlement. 
H. Ex. Doc. 100 16 



242 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

The undersigned, who has already expressed to her Majesty's charge d'affaires 
how sincere is the wish of the Mexican government to offer every kind of secu- 
rity for faithfully complying with the treaties, and to attend to all claims founded 
in justice, has also laid before him the great difficulties which at this moment 
impede an immediate and satisfactory settlement ; difficulties which are the 
natural consequences of a three years' civil war, and by which the public treasury 
has been drained, and the burdens weighing upon the revenue have been greatly 
increased. 

The undersigned has been gratified by perceiving that her Britannic Majesty's 
worthy representative has justly estimated the good will of the Mexican govern- 
ment, and is not unconscious of the obstacles which are but superficially noticed 
in this note. 

The undersigned has requested from the finance department a circumstantial 
statement of the assignments of the duties of the maritime custom-houses granted 
for the payment of foreign claims ; and as soon as this statement is made out 
he will have the honor of submitting it to her Britannic Majesty's charge 
d'affaires, in order that he may be pleased to take it into his consideration. 

In the meantime the undersigned can inform his excellency that the desire 
of the Mexican goverijment is to examine all British claims in order to ascertain 
their exact amount, to submit all that may be pending and not yet recognized 
(should her Britannic Majesty's government concur) to the scrutiny and decis- 
ion, without appeal, of a mixed commission, whose organization would be the 
subject of arrangement between the two governments, and to assign for the pay- 
ment of all claims thus admitted all that part of the national revenues that can 
be disposed of, reserving only what is absolutely necessary for covering the 
estimated expenditure, into which every economy, compatible with the existence 
of government, has been already commenced to be introduced. 

The undersigned would truly wish to be able to make more flattering prom- 
ises to her Britannic Majesty's charge d'affaires, but he prefers (and thinks it 
more consonant with rectitude) to use only the sincere language of truth, and 
to state that only which is within the limits of possibility in the present cir- 
cumstances of the country. 

The government of the undersigned recollect with satisfaction that Mr. 
Mathew, on the day of his official reception, offered them the full moral support 
of Great Britain, and they confidently hope, from the sentiments of justice and 
benevolence which animate the government of her Britannic Majesty, that they 
will see in this statement a proof of good faith, and of the sincere desire of the 
Mexican government to meet their just and well-founded reclamations. 

The undersigned takes leave to observe that when peace has been consoli 
dated in the republic, and the government has been enabled to direct theii' 
attention to the improvement of all the branches of the public administration, 
the increase of their revenues will be gradual and progressive, and the product, 
therefore, of whatever assignments may have been made of these revenues will 
be greater for the payment of British claims. 

,The undersigned likewise observes that a general arrangement and the 
formation of a common fund would have the advantage of offering a greater 
degree of equity to British claimants, for they would thus avoid preferences in 
favor of some and to the detriment of others, occurrences which might take 
place independently of the desire of the Mexican government, and even of the 
British legation, who occasionally recommend and give ear to certain cases 
without being able to do the same for all the cases of like nature. 

As Mr. Mathew, in the note to which the undersigned has the honor of 
replying, has been pleased to suggest the propriety of laying down the clear 
meaning of some of the articles of the existing treaty of friendship between 
Great Britain and Mexico, the infraction of which has caused many of the recla- 
mations, the government of the undersigned perceives no sort of inconvenience 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 243 

in making witli that of Great Britain sucli declarations as may seem best suited 
to prevent for tlie future all species of doubt or questions of interpretation, so 
that the natives of each country may enjoy when resident in the other clear 
and defined rights. 

Although, in order to arrive at this result, it may be needful to open negotia- 
tions, and to give the proper instructions to plenipotentiaries, the government 
of the undersigned declare that from the present moment they agree, with 
respect to the stipulations in the 10th article of the treaty of December 26, 1826, 
to extend the exemption from forced loans to extraordinary contribution^, limit- 
ing their obligation of paying to such contributions as may be legally estab- 
lished in accordance with the constitution of the republic, and to those which 
the States may impose in conformity with their particular laws and their muni- 
cipal regulations. 

The government of Mexico are prepared, with regard to any explanation or 
modification of any other articles of the treaty, to take into consideration any 
proposals or suggestions made on the part of Great Britain ; and in considering 
such they will entertain no other view than that of maintaiaing and of strength- 
ening more and more the friendly relations that happily exist between the two 
countries, reserving to themselves the right of proposing on their part the modi- 
fications which, on a careful examination, they may deem conducive to the main- 
tenance of these relations and the legitimate interests of the republic. 

With respect to the question of granting to the natives of both countries 
reciprocally the right of religious liberty, the undersigned has already made 
known to Mr. Mathew in his note of the 25th instant that the government of 
Mexico is willing to secure, by an additional article to the treaty, the necessary 
stipulation for insuring to British subjects the free exercise of their worship, 
and the right of adoring God according to the inspirations of their conscience. 

Foreign residents in Mexico enjoy this right since the triumph of the legiti- 
mate government, who have proclaimed, defended, and sustained the great prin- 
ciple of religious liberty; and such is the desire of the government to see it 
carried out fully into practice, that they have not awaited in proclaiming it for 
the suggestion of friendly powers, and they will concede the liberty of worship 
to all mankind, even though they should know that on this point due reciprocity 
had been denied to Mexican citizens in any other country of the world. 

In order that Mr. Mathew may form an exact idea of the principles which on 
this point serve as a guide to the government of the republic, and which he may 
commvmicate to that of her Britannic Majesty, the undersigned has the honor to 
enclose a copy of the decree of the 4th December last, which regulates the 
liberty of worship in this country, and whose provisions the undersigned hopes 
may be the basis accepted by the government of Great Britain for the stipula- 
tion proposed by the undersigned in his note of the 25th instant. 

The undersigned, &c. 

FRANCISCO ZAECO. 



No. 5. 
Mr. Matheio to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, April 19, 1861. 

My Lord : A public and religious ceremony having been announced to take 
place at Tacubaya in commemoration of the murders of prisoners and other per- 
sons committed there in the month of April, 1859, by order of Generals Mira- 
mon and Marquez, I deemed it a fitting moment to call the consideration of the 



244 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Mexican government to the claim of ^ the widow and family of the unfortunate 
Dr. Duval. 

Senor Zarco, in a note of which I have the honor to enclose a translation, 
informed me that the president was willing to assign nationalized property of 
the value of $25,000 for their benefit. Conscious of the all but impossibility 
under which the government labored of finding other means, I conceived it im- 
portant to the interest of Dr. Duval's family to place the offer of Senor Zarco in 
the hands of a respectable person, Mr. Knight, as their representative to carry 
it into effect ; but at the same time I deemed it right to guard myself in my 
reply, of which a copy is herewith transmitted, against the possible presumption 
of having admitted the disclaimer contained in Senor Zarco's note of pecuniary 
responsibility on the part of the government. 
T 113 vp occ 

GEORGE B. MATHEW. 



Enclosure 1 in No. 5. 

Senor Zarco to Mr. Mathew. 
[Translation.] 



Mexico, April 12, 1861. 
The undersigned, &c., in reply to Mr. Mathew's note respecting certain 
indemnity for the family of Dr. Duval, has the honor to inform him that, not- 
withstanding their desire to meet his wishes in the present instance, the Mexican 
government neither are nor can be held responsible, whether they be judged by 
international law, the laws of Mexico itself, or by the general principles of jus- 
tice, for the crimes of certain people calling themselves a government, and lately 
in possession of the capital, much less when such crimes come under the cate- 
gory of murders, as in the case of the unfortunate Dr. Duval. Consequently, 
the undersigned cannot but feel that Mr. Mathew will perceive how impossible 
it would be for the present government, with the principles they hold, to impose 
upon the country the payment of such indemnities as could not fail to give rise 
to a responsibility quite inadmissible. 

Nevertheless, the constitutional goverment, from feelings of humanity and 
justice, would not be indisposed to grant some kind of voluntary indemnity in 
such instances as the present one, and, as regards the family of Dr. Duval, 
would be willing to set aside house property to the amount of $25,000, the sum 
specified by Mr. Mathew, an arrangement which could be carried out either in 
actual houses or in covenant property, the latter having been secularized. 
The undersigned, &c. 

FRANCISCO ZARCO. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 5. 
Mr. Mathew to Senor Zarco. 



Mexico, April 18, 1861. 

The undersigned, &c., begs to acknowledge the notes addressed to him by 
his excellency Senor Don Francisco Zarco, &c., under dates of the 12th, 13th, 
15th, and 16th instant. 

He feels most fully assured of the sentiments of reprobation with which the 
government of whom his excellency is a justly distinguished member must regard 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 245 

any acts of outrage and exaction from whicli her Majesty's subjects in Mexico 
may have suffered, and for which they naturally look to that country for the 
compensation due to them, still less can he doubt the indignation with which 
they must view such atrocious and cowardly acts of assassination as that of 
which the unfortunate Dr. Duval was a victim, deeds whose advisers and per- 
petrators will yet, he trusts, meet condign punishment. 

The undersigned has received with sincere gratification the notification that 
his excellency the president has determined to assign immediately property of 
the value of ^25,000 for the benefit of Dr. Duval's widow and family, and has 
requested Mr, Knight, as their agent and friend in this capital, to wait upon his 
excellency Senor Zarco, and to concert with him all necessary steps for carrying 
his excellency's benevolent commands into immediate effect. 
The imdersigned, &c. 

GEORGE B. MATHEW. 



No. 6. 
Lord J. Russell to Sir C. Wyke. 

Foreign Office, May 30, 1861. 

Sir : Her Majesty's government approve Mr. Mathew's proceedings as re- 
ported in his despatch of the 19th ultimo, with reference to the proposed assign- 
ment of national property of the value of ^25,000 to the widow of the late Dr. 
Duval. 

I am, &c. 
' ■ J. RUSSELL. 



No. 7. 

M.r. MatJiew to Lord J. Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, May 12, 1861. 

There has been but little change in the affairs of Mexico for the last two 
months. Senor Prieto was succeeded in the ministry of finance by Seiior 
Mata, whose previous nomination as minister to England I had the honor of 
notifying^ to your lordship, and Avho has only agreed to fill the office until the 
meeting of congress. The death of Seiior Lerdo de Tejada, the ablest, if not 
the only financier in the republic, has been severely felt at the present crisis. 

It seems doubtful whether Senor Mata will proceed to London; the name of 
Seiior Gomez Farias has been mentioned to me by Senor Zarco, in the event of 
a new appointment. 

Senor Fuente, a lawyer of some note, left Mexico by the last packet on a 
mission to Paris, and probably to Spain, his departure having been long delayed 
by the difficulty of procuring even the small sum of money necessary for his 
journey and support. 

To this complete deficiency of resources must be attributed the continued 
existence and increase, in various parts of the country, of guerilla bodies under 
the Spaniards Cobos and Vicario, and under the infamous Marquez, who pur- 
sues still his course of murder and rapine. 

Two petty attempts to create disturbances in this capital were discovered and 
put down in time. 



246 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

In other respects public tranquillity lias not been disturbed, and however 
faulty and weak the present government may be, they who witnessed the mur- 
ders, the acts of atrocity and of plunder, almost of daily occurrence, under the 
government of Greneral Miramon and his counsellors, SeSor Diaz and General 
Marquez, cannot but appreciate the existence of law and justice. 

Foreigners, especially, who suffered so heavily under that arbitrary rule, and 
by the hatred and intolerance towards them, which is a dogma of the church 
party in Mexico, cannot but make a broad distinction between the past and the 
present. 

President Juarez, though deficient in the energy necessary for the present 
crisis, is an upright and well-intentioned man, excellent in all the private rela- 
tions of life, but the mere fact of his being an Indian exposes him to the hostil- 
ity and sneers of the dregs of Spanish society, and of those of mixed blood, 
who ludicrously arrogate to themselves the higher social position in Mexico. 

I have already made known to your lordship my opinion of the objectionable 
nature of the federal constitution now in force ; and I have not concealed my 
fear for the future peace of Mexico, from the utter want of patriotism among 
the higher classes, and from the demoralization and restlessness produced among 
all by the prolonged state of civil warfare. A desire for change is already 
stated to exist in certain quarters, and the idea of the selection of a military 
dictator has been put forward; but it is scarcely needful to observe that such a 
step would be no palliation of the present wants, and no preventive of the future 
dangers of the country. 

General St. Anna was the ablest man of that class that Mexico has produced, 
and the temporary good effect of his energetic character is unquestionable ; bvit 
that due appreciation of equal justice, of social rights, and of peaceful prosperity, 
by which alone nationality can be maintained, cannot be created by the strong 
hand of arbitrary power. 

The hope of Mexico rests upon the maintenance of peace. A wise basis of 
civil and of religious liberty has been laid down, and peace only is needed for 
the development of constitutional principles, and for the gradual enlightenment 
of the people. 

But seeing, as I do, so many native and foreign elements at work to disturb 
the existing state of things, I cannot but entertain a conviction that unless the 
present government or principles of government are in some way avowedly up- 
held by England or the United States — by a protecting alliance, or by the 
declaration that no revolutionary movements would be permitted in any of the 
seaports on either ocean — further deplorable convulsions will afflict this unfor- 
tunate country, to the heavy injury of British interests and commerce, and to 
the disgrace of humanity. 

I do not believe it possible that the church party, or that the former rule of 
intolerance and of gross superstition can ever be restored to power; so far, at 
least, has been secured by the result of the last civil war — the first contest for 
principles, it may be remarked, in this republic. But the result of the intrigues 
of various parties Anth different views and hopes, and the difficulties and em- 
barrassments purposely brought to bear upon a weak and bankrupt government, 
may cause an early dismemberment of the republic, and its division into many 
petty States. 

The most imminent peril, however, to Mexico, and one which will equally 
press on any future as on the present government, is the deplorable state of its 
finances. On the one hand, the supreme government have no power to raise 
taxes, save with the consent of the States, (and the country, though possessed 
of great internal wealth, is, for the present year or more, utterly ruined and 
exhausted by the late war;) and on the other, the resources now receivable by 
the government are avowedly unequal to more than half the amount of the ex- 
penditure actually requisite. 



THE PEE SENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 247 

The chief revenues arise from the import duties, and not only are these grad- 
ually but surely diminishing, from the smuggling consequent on the high duties 
so unwisely imposed on cottons and woollens, and other goods of general con- 
sumption, but at this moment in Vera Cruz, the chief port of the republic, no 
less than 77 per cent, are claimed by foreign creditors. Of this amount — 

27 per cent, are assigned to the London bondholders. 

24 per cent, to the "British convention," which numbers very few English 

holders. 
10 per cent, extra to replace a,rrears. 

10 per cent, to replace the money at the mint of Gruanasuato. 
8 per cent, for the French convention. 

77 

The Mexican government has been accused, and not without some reason, of 
having frittered away the church property recently nationalized ; but it must be 
remembered that, while forced contributions, plunder, and immense supplies 
from the church and its supporters have enabled Generals Zuloaga and Miramon 
to sustain the civil war for three years, the constitutional government abstained 
from such acts, and have the sole robbery of the conducta at Lagos, towards 
the close of the war, to answer for. Their resources, during this lengthened 
period, were drawn from advances by individuals, on bonds for far larger sums, 
payable at the close of the war, and from the actual sale of a great part of this 
property at 25, 20, and even 15 per cent, of its supposed value. 

The advantageous disposal of the remainder was most detrimentally affected 
by the circulation of reports calculated to prevent the restoration of confidence, 
and the consequent investment of money. in the purchase of nationalized prop- 
erty; and the government have consequently been obliged by their necessities, 
after trying in vain every better mode of sale, to dispose of the property on 
"pagares" (or promissory notes) to be paid off by instalments extending over 
several years. 

These "pagares," again, they are compelled to sell by auction, at a heavy 
discount, to provide for the daily subsistence of the troops, and the maintenance 
of the government. 

From the foregoing details your lordship will at once understand the precari- 
ous condition of Mexico, and that, without some foreign interposition, the dis- 
memberment of the republic and a national bankruptcy appear all but inevi- 
table. 

The session of the Mexican congress, after some preliminary time spent in 
verifying the elections, was opened on the 10th ; and I have the honor to en- 
close copies of the speeches of President Juarez, and of the president of the 
congress, on that occasion. 

I am sorry to say that I entertain but little hope of much practical advantage 
from their deliberations ; indeed, I know not that much is in their power, espe- 
cially with regard to the most pressing danger, the financial position of Mexico. 

The bondholders might, perhaps, save their capital by submitting to a tem- 
porary suspension of interest ; and the establishment of a more equitable tariff, 
which the government are pledged to me to urge upon the congress, may lay 
down a better future basis of revenue. 

But Mexico should, whatever her distress, at least commence at home ; and 
tlic holders of the immense internal debt should be the first to suffer for the 
ruin their own folly has caused or abetted. I much fear that the republic has 
not produced men of sufficient energy and honor to adopt this course, unsus- 
tained by some foreign interposition. 

The effort will always be made to make the foreigner the chief sufferer from 
the undoubtedly bankrupt state of the country. 



248 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

One of the first acts of the congress will be to verify the election of the presi- 
dent, which has recently taken place throughout the country : unless one of the 
candidates has a majority of all the votes cast, the congress selects ; and it is 
thought very possibly that by this course Seiior Juarez, though highest on the 
list of candidates, may be defeated, and that General Ortega may be named. 

Her Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoteniary. Sir Charles 
L. Wyke, and Mr. Johnston, arrived safely in this capital on the 9th instant. 



No. 8. 
Sir C. Wyke to Lord J. Russell. 

[Extract.] 

; Mexico, ikfa^/ 27, 1861. 

In a long conversation I had with Sefior Guzman I dwelt on the astonish- 
ment that would naturally be felt by her Majesty's government when informed 
that no steps had yet been taken for the payment of the $660,000, which 
we must insist on being refunded to the parties from whom it had been stolen. 
I added that the honor of the Mexican government was directly concerned in 
this matter, and therefore fully expected to hear from him some explanation, 

Don Leon Gvxzman was profuse in his professions of being willing to do all 
that could in j,ustice be required of him, but whenever I attempted to get him 
out of generalities, he avoided the difficulty by stating that until I was fonnally 
installed as her Majesty's minister here, he could not officially treat the question 
with me, but again expressed his willingness to render every satisfaction when 
the proper time for so doing should arrive. As soon after the departure of the 
mail as possible I shall put his sincerity to the test. 

The term of delay granted for the repayment of the money stolen from the 
"conducta" by General Degollado expires on the 11th of next month, and I 
have every reason to believe that they are not prepared to meet the demand 
that will then be made upon them. 



No. 9. 

Sir C. Wyke to Lord J. Russell. 
[Extract.] 

Mexico, May 27, 1861. 

It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to give your lordship a correct idea 
of the present state of affairs in this unfortunate country, so utterly incompre- 
hensible is the conduct of the government which at present presides over its 
destinies. 

Animated by a blind hatred towards the church party, the present government 
has only thought of destroying and dissipating the immense property formerly 
belonging to the clergy, without, however, at the same time taking advantage of 
the wealth thus placed at their disposal to liquidate the many obligations which 
at present weigh them down and cripple their resources. 

The church property has generally been supposed to be worth between 
60,000,000 and .80,000,000 Spanish dollars, the whole of Avhich appears to have 
been frittered away without the government having anything to show for it. A 
considerable amount has, doubtless, been spent in repaying advances at exorbi- 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 249 

tant interest, made to tlie liberal party when they were fighting their way to 
power ; but still enough ought to have remained after satisfying their creditors 
to have left them very well off, and in a better position as to their pecuniary re- 
sources than that held by any other government. 

Since their declaration of independence, according to a decree issued by them 
some time ago, anybody denouncing church property has the right to purchase it 
on the following terms : 60 per cent, of the value of such houses or lands are to 
be paid in bonds of the internal debt, (which bonds are in reality only wo^th 6 
per cent.,) and the remaining 40 per cent, in " pagares " or promises to pay 
hard cash, at sixty, and even eighty months' sight. The pagares," of course, 
were subsequently discounted at an enormous sacrifice, as the government was 
pressed for money, and willing to pay any nominal value to obtain it without 
delay. In this way $27,000,000 worth of church property has been squan 
dered in this city alone and the government, now without a sixpence, is 
endeavoring to raise a loan of $1,000,000 to pay their current expenses. 

The church party, although beaten, are not yet subdued, and several of their 
chiefs are within six leagues of the capital, at the head of forces varying from 
4,000 to 6,000 men. The notorious Marquez is one of these, and he has lately 
defeated several bodies of government troops sent against him. 

The reHgious feelings of a fanatic population have been shocked by the de- 
struction of churches and convents all over the country, and the disbanded 
monks and friars wandering about amongst the people fan the flame of discon- 
tent, which is kept alive by the women, who, as a body, are all in favor of the 
church. 

Those well acquainted with the country watch this movement with anxiety, 
and say that, unless promptly checked, it will lead to the downfall of the present • 
government, and renew again all the horrors of a civil war. 

In the meantime congress, instead of enabling the government to put down 
the frightful disorder which reigns throughout the length and breadth of the land, 
is occupied in disputing about vain theories of so-called government on ultra- 
liberal principles, whilst the respectable part of the population is delivered up 
defenceless to the attacks of robbers and assassins, who swarm on the highroads 
and in the streets of the capital. The constitutional government is unable to 
maintain its authorty in the various States of the federation, which are becoming 
de facto perfectly independent, so that the same causes which, under similar cir- 
cumstances, broke up the confederation of Central America into five' separate 
republics are now at work here, and will probably produce a like result. 

This state of things renders one all but powerless to obtain redress from a 
government which is solely occupied in maintaining its existence from day to day 
and therefore unwilling to attend to other people's misfortunes before their own. 
The only hope of improvement I can see is to be found in the small moderate 
party who may step in perhaps before all is lost, to save their country from im- 
pending ruin. Patriotism, in the common acceptation of the term, appears to 
be unknown, and no one man of any note is to be found in the ranks of either 
party. Contending factions struggle for the possession of power only to gratify 
either their cupidity or their revenge, and in the meantime the country sinks 
lower and lower, whilst its population becomes brutalized and degraded to an 
extent frightful to contemplate. 

Such is the actual state of affairs in Mexico, and your lordship will perceive 
therefore that there is little chance of justice or redress from such people, except 
by the employment of force to exact that which both persuasion and menaces 
have hitherto failed to obtain. 



250 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 10. 
Sir C. Wyhe to Lord J. Russell. 
. [Extract] 

Mexico, June 24, 1861. 

In my despatch of the 27t}i ultimo I stated that I should take an early oppor- 
tunity of testing the sincerity of Don Leon Guzman, the new minister for foreign 
affairs, with reference to his assertion to me that the Mexican gOYernment were 
most anxious to atone, by any means in their power, for the outrage committed 
at the British legation in November last. 

My interview with him took place on Saturday, the 1st instant. He said 
that legal measures had been- instituted against the persons who had stolen the 
$660,000 on that occasion, and that, if they were condemned by the courts, 
their property would be confiscated, and the proceeds thereof employed towards 
paying off that sum. 

This I told him I had nothing whatever to do with, having merely to insist 
on the repayment of the money stolen, without in any way being concerned in 
the means by which it was to be procured. 

I pointed out to Senor Guzman that the speedy repayment of the sum above 
mentioned was essential, not only for the honor and credit of the Mexican gov- 
ernment, but also for the maintenance of friendly relations between the two 
countries. 

Don Leon then assured me that before the departure of the next mail he 
.should be able to furnish me with such explanations relative to this matter as 
would prove satisfactory to her Majesty's government. 

With regard to the money robbed from the " Laguna Seca" conducta, he in- 
formed me that it should be paid at the end of the four months named as the 
term for liquidating this claim. 

On the Monday following, that is to say, the 3d of June, appeared in most 
of the newspapers a decree issued by the president, under the authority of the 
congress, whereby all payments to the creditors of the national treasury were 
suspended for the space of one year, with the exception of the claim commonly 
known as that of the " Laguna Seca," and of the diplomatic conventions. 

As the claim arising out of the legation robbery was not specified in the list 
of exceptions to non-payment, I addressed a note to Seiior Guzman on the sub- 
ject, copy of which, together with a translation of his reply, I have the honor 
to enclose. 

Not deeming the latter satisfactory, I again wrote to him on the 7th instant, 
in order to maintain the position I had taken, as well also as to prove to him 
that I was perfectly justified in demanding an explanation as to the omission of 
all ^ mention of the legation robbery claim in the decree of the 29th ultimo, 
which I herewith enclose for your lordship's information. Copy of this note I 
likeAvise transmit, together with translation of his reply, in which he endeavors 
to establish by inference the principle that the actual perpetrators of the lega- 
tion outrage are alone responsible for the wrong done on that occasion. 

Seeing the necessity of at once checking this attempt to shift the responsibil- 
ity from off the shoulders of the Mexican government, I again addressed Senor 
Guzman on the 14th instant, which note; had the effect of producing a reply, 
showing considerable temper, and in which it is plainly asserted that they will 
do nothing that they are not strictly bound to perform by the agreement made 
with Mr. Mathew at the time of his recognition of the Juarez government. 

The tone of this communication was, taking into consideration the general 
style of their ofiicial correspondence, anything but courteous, and it therefore 
called forth a reply from me couched in even stronger terms than my note of 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 251 

the 14tli instant. I have the honor to enclose copy of this despatch, which has 
remained unanswered up to the present moment, owing, I suppose, to the resig- 
nation of the Guzman administration. 

In order to avoid all confusion, I will treat of the " Laguna Seca" claim in a 
separate despatch, enclosing therein the correspondence which has taken place 
with reference to it between the Mexican government and her Majesty's lega- 
tion. 



Enclosure 1 in No. 10. 



Sir C. WyTce to Senor Guzman. 

Mexico, June 3, 1861. 

Sir : In the second article of a decree bearing the president's signature, and 
dated the 29th ultimo, but which was only brought to my notice this morning, 
I perceive that the payment of all claims against the national treasury, except 
tliose guaranteed by diplomatic conventions, and the one commonly known as 
that of the " Laguna Seca," is to be suspended for the period of twelve calendar 
months. 

Without entering into the grave questions that may arise out of the practical 
operation of this decree, I will simply call your attention on the present occa- 
sion to the omission of all mention in it of the claim caused by robbery from 
her Majesty's legation of the sum of $660,000 belonging to the English bond- 
holders. 

The settlement of this claim, which so nearly affects the honor and credit of 
the Mexican government, cannot surely be intended to be postponed until after 
the expiration of the term mentioned in said decree for the suspension of pay- 
ment. 

Your excellency will greatly oblige me by clearing up all doubt on this sub- 
ject, for the question involved is one of the greatest importance, as nearly affect- 
ing those good relations between our respective governments which it is our 
duty as well also, I am sure, our mutual desire to maintain. 
I avail, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 10. 

Senor Guzman to Sir C. Wyke. 
[Translation.] 



Mexico, June 6, 1861. 

The undersigned, &c., has the honor of replying to the note of his excellency 
the British minister under date of the 3d instant, in which his excellency is 
pleased to ask for an explanation of the omission to include among the excep- 
tions to the decree of the 29th of May last, upon the subject of a general sus- 
pension of treasury payments, the $660,000 belonging to the London bond 
holdei-s, and stolen by the rebels from her Britannic Majesty's legation. 

In doing so, the undersigned has the honor to inform Sir Charles Wyke that 
the susp(;nsion of payments does not and could not include the 660,000 
in question, and consequently there was no necessity to make any exception 
in this case. 

By the aiTangement made in the matter of the $660,000 the Mexican gov- 



252 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

ernment has assigned for their payment the property of the responsible par- 
ties, and only in the event of sxxch property proving insufficient for the purpose 
did it engage itself to treat of and settle amicably the reimbursement of the 
whole sum. Inasmuch, then, as the money is not being paid by the national 
treasury, the suspension of payments referred to does not and cannot afPect it. 

Were, indeed, the treasury eventually called upon to make good any deficiency, 
the suspension, of payments could never prove an obstacle in the way of its 
carrying out such an arrangement. 

In offenng these explanations, which he doubts not will appear satisfactory 
to Sir C. L. Wyke, the undersigTied, &c. 

LEON GUZMAN. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 10. 
Decree. 



Le citoyen Benito Juarez, Pre'sident Interimaire Constitutionnel des Etats- 
Uni Mexicains, a tons leurs habitants faisons savoir : 

Que le Congres Souverain de la nation a bien voulu decreter ce qui suit : — 
Article 1. L'Executif est autorise a mettre en cours force des titres ("es- 
crituras") de capitaux nationaux imposes sur immeubles ruraux et urbains, en 
quantite suffisante pour lui procurer le 1,000,000 piastres auquel se refere le 
Decret du 20 du eourant, avec un escompte pouvant s'elever jusqu'au deux 
pour cent, mensuel. 

Art. 2. Sont suspendus, pour une annee, les paiements aux creanciers du 
Tresor national, a I'exception de celui de la conduite de Laguna Seca, et des 
conventions diplomatiques ; pendant ce temps, le Congres de I'Union rendra 
les lois de credit public, de suppression des douanes interieures et "alcabalas," 
de reforme de Tarif et d'etablissement de la contribution directe. 

Art. 3. L'Executif presentera une initiative d'arrangement pour la sus- 
pension des conventions diplomatiques, en rendant compte du resultat an Congres 
pour son approbation. 

Articulo 4. En dehors des exceptions qu'etablit Particle 2 I'Executif ne 
pourra faire d'autres paiements que ceux d'administration. 

Donne dans la Salle des Seances du Congres de I'Union, le 29 Mai, 1861. 

JOSE MARIA AOUIRRE, 

Depute President. 
GUILLERMO VALLE, 

Depute Secretaire. 
E. ROBLES GIL, 

Depute Secretaire. 
Pourquoi j'ordonne, &c. 

Palais du Gouvernembnt Federal a Mexico, le 29 Mai, 1861. 

Au Citoyen Jose Maria Oastanos, 

Ministre des Finances et du Credit Puhlic. 



Enclosure 4 in No. 10. 
Sir C. TVyJce to Senor Guzman. 

Mexico, June 7, 1861. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your excellency's communi- 
cation bearing yesterday's date, in reply to my despatch of the 3d instant, in 
which I requested you to inform me why all mention of the legation robbery 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 253 

had been omitted from that article of the decree of the 29th ultimo which speci- 
fies the exceptions that are to be made to the suspension of payment of all claims 
against the national treasury for the space of twelve calendar months. 

In the second paragraph of your above-named despatch, your excellency in- 
forms me that the decree of the 29th could not affect the case of the legation 
robbery, and that consequently there was no necessity to mention the claim 
arising therefrom in the list of exceptions to the general rule of a suspension of 
payments; and yet, in the concluding sentence of the third paragraph, you in- 
form me that if the means adopted for the liquidation of this claim should prove 
insufficient, that then the national treasury would make up the deficit. 

Seeing that this must eventually be the case, your excellency will easily 
understand why I was anxious to obtain the assurance Avhich you have now 
given me, that the payment shall be made out of the national treasury, for the 
means you have hitherto adopted to repay the money stolen have not produced 
the desired result. 

As I had the honor of stating to you in our recent conversation with reference 
to this matter, the prompt settlement of this claim equally affects the honor of 
both governments, an opinion in which you fully concurred, at the same time 
assuring me that before the departure of the next European mail you would be 
able to prove to me the honorable intentions of your government in doing all ia 
their power to satisfy the just demands of that of her Majesty. 

Fully trusting in that assurance, I will no longer dwell upon a subject the 
importance of which is well known to your excellency ; indeed, I should not 
again have alluded to it, were it not for my desire to prevent the possibility of 
any misunderstanding arising with reference to it. 
I avail, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE, 



Enclosure 5 ia No. 10. 

Senor Guzman to Sir C. Wyke, 
[Translation.] 

Mexico, June 12, 1861. 

"With your excellency's note of the 3d instant, which the undersigned had the 
honor of receiving on the 4th, the question raised by your excellency about no 
exception having been made in the decree of the 29th for the robbery committed 
by the rebels at the British legation should have terminated. But, hke your 
excellency, the undersigned is desirous of preventing any misunderstanding upon 
this point, and considers himself, therefore, under the necessity of explaining 
matters. 

Now there is a palpable difference between asserting, as did the undersigned, 
that, in the event of the legation robbery not being covered by the property of 
the perpetrators thereof, the Mexican government were under an obligation to 
treat about and arrange the reimbursement of the moneys taken, and positively 
affirming that under similar circumstances the deficiency would have to be cov- 
ered by the national treasury. 

The undersigned hinted, indeed, at the possibility of such a contingency, but 
he never did, nor could he, say that it was a certainty ; such a statement was 
out of the question, inasmuch as it is not possible to give a positive assurance 
about any matter which has to be treated of and settled, before the treatment 
and settlement shall have taken place. 

With regard to the loyal intentions of the Mexican government, of which the 



254 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

undersigned lias assured your excellency — your excellency at the same time 
being pleased to acknowledge them — the undersigned can state that stringent 
orders have been given for expediting the judicial inquiries which have been in- 
stituted, so as to permit of the money stolen .from the legation being repaid by 
whatever property of the responsible parties has been or may be embargoed. 
The undersigned, &c. 

LEON GUZMAN. 



Enclosure 6 ia No. 10. 
Sir C. Wh/ke to Senor Guzman. 

Mexico, June 14, 1861. 

Sir : Unwilling as I am to prolong a correspondence which I fear will lead 
to no practical result for some time to come, yet I cannot pass over in silence 
your excellency's note of the 12th instant, written in reply to mine of the 7th, 
without at once protesting against the doctrine therein attempted to be established 
by inference, to the effect that the actual perpetrators of the legation outrage are 
alone responsible, in their persons and property, for the wrong done on the 17th 
of November last. 

Now, according to every principle of international law having reference to 
cases in any way similar to the one in point, her Majesty's government is per- 
fectly justified in holding the State of Mexico (I use the word in its largest sense) 
responsible for the insult done to their legation, and the robbery of British prop- 
erty committed on that occasion, without in any way occupying themselves with 
the mere individuals who acquired so unfortunate a notoriety by a crime which 
it should have been tlie first duty of the present government to punish and 
atone for. 

It was an express stipulation on the part of her Majesty government, before 
recognizing that of President Juarez, that this obligation should be complied 
with, and Mr. Mathew, late her Majesty's charge d'affaires, was so fully con- 
vinced of the sincerity of his excellency's then cabinet in this matter, that he at 
once proffered the recognition he had to offer, without waiting to see the accom- 
plishment of a duty which was binding, in honor as well as justice, on the parties 
who had inherited the advantages as well as the responsibilities of their prede- 
cessors. 

If Mr. Mathew's confidence has been misplaced, that can in no way affect the 
rights of her Majesty's government in this matter, which, as represented by me, 
I now again insist on, as well for the principle involved as for the interests of the 
parties concerned. 

When I had the honor of communicating verbally with your excellency on this 
subject, I had hoped that you had clearly understood the view taken of this 
question by her Majesty's government, and the more so as, according to those 
principles of international law now universally acknowledged, there is only one 
way of looking at it. 

I avail, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYIO:. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 255 

Enclosure 7 in No. 10. 

Senor Guzman to Sir C. WyJce. 

[Translation.] 

National Palace, Mexico, June 15, 1861. 

Tlie undersigned, &c., lias the lienor to address himself to his excellency Sir 
Charles Lennox Wyke, &c., and to inform him that, without insisting upon con- 
tinuing the correspondence that his excellency was pleased to commence, and 
which, according to the declaration in his note of the 14th instant, he does not 
desire to prolong, the undersigned must take notice of the protest that his ex- 
cellency makes "against the doctrine which is attempted to be established by 
inference, to the effect that the actual perpetrators of the legation outrage are 
alone responsible in their persons and property for the wrong done on the 17th 
of November last." 

Without entering into a question which is irrelevant, and confining himself to 
his note of the 12tli instant, the undersigned finds himself compelled to explain 
matters by observing that in his said note of the 12th no doctrines were laid 
down, but facts were recalled ; facts consigned in an agreement concluded be- 
tween the agent accredited by the English government and the minister, of 
foreign affairs of the Mexican government. 

The government of the undersigned is disposed to treat questions of right on 
the ground of justice and reason, but will not prejudice them, nor allow them to 
be prejudiced, by introducing them incidentally and out of their place, or con- 
trary to established foi-ms. Thus, then, and without its being understood that 
the doctrines noted down by his excellency are accepted or rejected, the under- 
signed has the honor to assure him that in the matter of the legation robbery he 
will be strictly bound by the agreement entered into by the representatives of 
both governments, without discussing whether it be good or bad, inasmuch as 
the opportunity of so doing has passed. 

The midersigned hopes that his excellency will do him the justice to admit 
that he cannot occupy himself in this note with the other questions that his ex- 
cellency introduces into his note, because, if upon this principle we were to go 
on mixing up questions indiscriminately, their solution would become more and 
more intricate and eventually impossible. If, on the contrary, we give to each 
one the independent place its nature requu-es, its solution will be as easy as it 
will be prompt. 

The undersigned, &c. 

LEON GUZMAN. 



Enclosure 8 in No. 10. 

Sir. C. Wyke to Senor Guzman. 

Mexico, June 18, 1861. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of you excellency's note of the 
15th instant, a careful perusal of which leads me to infer that you think you 
have a right to complain of the tone of my communication of the 14th, to which 
it is a reply. 

In that despatch I endeavored, in terms as clear and concise as possible, to 
put the question which has given rise to the present correspondence in its proper 
light, and in doing so I conceive I was fulfilling a duty imperative on me to per- 



256 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO, 

form, as no possible misunderstanding as to the views of her Majesty's govern- 
ment with reference to this matter must arise, as far as it lies in my power to 
prevent it. 

On the 17th of November last an outrage was committed by the de facto 
government of Mexico on the legation of a friendly power, which was not only 
a disgrace to its perpetrators, but a direct, act of felony on the subjects of that 
power ; and this crime up to the present moment remains unatoned for. 

It is not by the vain promises of an agreement, never yet acted up to, that 
such a scandal can either be forgotten or forgiven, and therefore I should be de- 
ceiving you were I not clearly to point out that her Majesty's government will 
hold the republic of Mexico and its government directly responsible for what is 
complained of. 

In succeeding to the offices of your predecessors, you have inherited their 
responsibilities, and international law renders these as binding on you as if the 
last three years' civil war had never existed, and you had peaceably succeeded 
to the places of the former administration. ' The continuance of the good rela- 
tions now existing between our respective governments renders the clear under- 
standing of this principle absolutely necessary, and therefore no false delicacy 
shall prevent my insisting upon it, however ungracious it may appear on my 
part thus repeatedly urging it upon your excellency's attention. 

You inform me that no doctrine was laid down in your excellency's note of 
thfe 12th, but that acts were therein recalled, "acts consigned in an agreement 
concluded between the accredited agents of our respective governments." 

I have looked in vain in that communication for the mention of any act of 
reparation, and have found only promises of redress to the effect that the per- 
sonal property of the individuals who committed the outrages shall, if condemned 
by the legal authorities, be held liable to indemnify the losses sustained by 
British subjects on the occasion referred to. 

Now, in the first place, the legal process which you mention has, up to the 
present moment, resulted in absolutely nothing; and in the second, had it even 
produced the full effects which you desired, the pecuniary resources thus ob- 
tained would have proved quite inadequate to cover the loss sustained, as it is 
notorious that the value of the united property of all the parties concerned in 
the legation robbery would not exceed.one-sixth part of the money stolen on that 
occasion. 

Your excellency informs me that your government is disposed to treat ques- 
tions of right on the grounds of justice and reason, but will not allow them to 
be prejudiced by being introduced incidentally and out of place, in violation of 
established form. 

It is in complete accordance with the rule that you have thus laid down that 
I now again call upon your government to treat this grave question on the prin- 
ciples of justice and right, by adopting serious measures for repairing the wrong 
done instead of repeating promises which have hitherto led to nothing, and 
which never can lead, as already pointed out, to anything but a partial repara- 
tion of an insult and an injury to the nation which I have the honor to re- 
present. 

I see no use whatever in prolonging a correspondence on this subject, which 
must be treated according to the well-defined principles of international law, and 
not according to the partial wishes of one of the parties interested in it. 

Having thus placed you in possession of the views of her Majesty's govern- 
ment with reference to this question, I avail, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 257 

No. 11. 

, Si?- C. IVyke to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, Jime 24, 1861. 

My Lord : On the recognition of tlie Juarez government by Mr. Matliew it 
was agreed on with them that the remainder of the money due from the robbery 
of the "Laguna Seca" conducta shoukl be repaid within four months from the 
dkte of such recognition. 

The term having expired on the 11th instant, I then addressed a note to Senor 
Guzman on the subject, copy of which I have herewith the honor to enclose,, 
together with the translation of his excellency's reply, by which your lordship. 
Avill perceive that the difficulty of the situation and the penury of the treasury 
are urged as excuses for not fulfilling their engagement by the payment in specie 
of the debt owing. Such being the case he offers compensation in the shape of 
convents, farms recently belonging to the church, or even the national palace 
itself; and if these should not suffice, his excellency proposes that each in- 
dividual claim shall be admitted to the full amount in payment of duties on any 
future importations made by any of the parties having such claims. Nothing- 
can apparently be fairer than such a proposal, but to anybody actually on the 
spot its unsatisfactory nature is at once apparent for the foUoAving reasons : 

Were this government to be upset and the church party to return to power, 
any such grants as those above named would at once be repudiated; and the 
remission of duties, which is the most plausible of the proposals made, might at 
any moment be set aside by a decree founded on the urgent necessities of the 
government for ready money to carry on their current expenses. 

On my cummunicating a copy of Senor Gruzman's note of the 12fch, through 
Consul Grlennie, to the parties interested, they, after due consideration, refused 
the offer made on these grounds ; at the same time saying that what they wanted 
was ready money to meet the engagements which had devolved on them in con- 
sequence of the robbery of the "Laguna Seca" conducta, which refusal I con- 
veyed to Senor Gruzman in a note dated the 22d instant, copy of which I have 
now the honor to enclose. 

Knowing the utter impossibility of obtaining ready money from a government 
which is actually penniless, I recommended the parties interested not to refuse 
listening to any further proposals that the Mexican commissioners might have 
to make them, and they, in compliance with my recommendation, have accord- 
ingly named two members of their body to represent them in the conferences 
now about to take place with reference to this matter. Thus stands the case at 
present, and I fear that in this instance also the interests of British subjects 
will again be sacrificed to the reckless folly and bad*faith of this government. 
I have, &c. 

0. LENNOX WYKE 



Enclosure 1 in No. 11. 

Sir C. IVyke to SeTior Guzmayi. 

Mexico, June 11, 1861. 

Sir : A few days ago I had the honor of explaining to your excellency the 

present position of what is generally known as the "Laguna Seca" conducta 

claim, and as on that occasion I gathered from your excellency's remarks that 

the Mexican government considered itself bound to carry out in ail sincerity the 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 17 



258 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

arrangements for repayment laid down in Seilor Zarco's note to Mr. Mathew of 
the 12tli of February last, I request your excellency to inform me, at your 
earliest convenience, to whom the sufferers by the above-named robbery are to 
apply, at the ports of Vera Cruz and Tampico, for the sum of money forcibly 
taken from them by Senor Degoilado at Laguna Seca. 

This sum, as I believe your excellency is aware, amounts, with interest, to 
$285,569 38, and I may further add that every British subject interested in the 
question is furnished with, and ready to produce, the documents necessary to 
prove the legitimacy of his particular reclamation. 
I avail, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 11. 

SeTior Guzman to Sir C. Wyke. 

[Translation.] 

Mexico, 'June 12, 1861. 

The undersigned, &c., has the honor to reply to the note of his excellency 
Sir C. Lennox Wyke, &c., under date of yesterday, and to inform him that the 
government of Mexico always has been and ever will be ready to fuMl its en- 
D-ao-ements with British subjects. This is more especially the case with respect 
to the funds seized by General Degoilado at Laguna Seca, so much so that even 
when the government was compelled to make a general suspension of payments 
care was taken not to include therein the funds in question. 

The government has spared no effort to get together sufficient moneys for 
meeting the debt, the payment of which, with the fullest intention of acting up 
to their engagements, they had fixed for the 11th instant. The difficulties, 
however, of the moment, combined T>dth the penury of the treasury — facts 
which are now publicly notorious, and have doubtless come to the knowledge of 
your excellency — have rendered of no avail the efforts of government, and 
frustrated their best intentions ; still good security has been given, and no small 
portion of the Laguna Seca credits taken as cash-payments. 

Thus, then, the undersigned is under the painful necessity of informing your 
excellency that it will be quite impossible for the government to fulfil, at the 
specified time, their engagements in the matter of Laguna Seca, and they are 
consequently placed in the painful position of having to enter into some fresh 
arrangement with the parties interested therein. , 

If the financial crisis was of less import, if the government could count upon 
their actual resources being sufiicient to cover even a portion of their most 
pressing liabilities, they would assign part of those resources for the settlement 
of the above preferential claim. Owing, however, to the extreme scarcity of 
money, and to the certainty thkt for the moment cash-payments are quite out of 
the question, they prefer avowing honestly their actual j^osition to hazarding 
some new promise, which they would find themselves under the painful neces- 
sity of breaking. 

The government recognizes the just rights of the creditors, and are resolved 
upon making every possible sacrifice in order to satisfy them. Government can 
dispose of convents and other valuable property. These, and even the national 
palace, are at the creditors' disposal; they may take their choice, and whatever 
they select shall at once be consigned to them at an equitable and conventional 
price. 

These same creditors, moreover, can count upon their credits being admitted 
• as cash in any transactions, whether on account of duties, or otherwise, which 
they may have with government. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 259 

In order satisfactorily to arrange their business, Mr. Deputy Mata and Senor 
Zarco liave been appointed commissioners to treat with the parties interested, 
who, on then- part, may Hkewise talk over the matter with those gentlemen, and 
make whatever propositions they may deem suitable, always remembering that the 
government will leave nothing undone to bring the question at issue to an ami- 
cable and successful termination. 
The undersigned, &c. 

LEON GUZMAN. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 11. 
Sir C. Wyke to Senor Guzman. 

Mexico, June 22, 1861. 

Sir : On the receipt of your excellency's note of the 12th instant I commu- 
nicated a copy of it to those persons directly interested in the question to which 
it referred. 

It was only yesterday that I was made acquainted with their views on the 
subject, which I will now put you in possession of as briefly as possible. They 
naturally cannot accept the plea of poverty put forward to excuse the non-pay- 
ment of so sacred an obligation as that contracted by the Mexican government 
with her Majesty's late charge d'affaires on the occasion of that government re- 
ceivmg the formal recognition of Great Britain, when the repayment within the 
space of four months of the money belonging to British subjects that had been 
stolen from the conducta of the Laguna Seca was one of the express conditions 
on which that recognition depended. Since that engagement was entered into 
several millions of hard dollars have passed through the hands of the Mexican 
government, so that they cannot, with anything like reason, plead their poverty 
as an excuse for not having provided the funds necessary to meet the demand 
now brought against them. 

It is clear that as specie was stolen money should be repaid, for it is with 
currency alone, or good bills to the same amount, that the engagements of the 
sufferers in this affair can be duly met. Farms, convents, or even the national 
palace itself, may be valuable property in its way, and yet not at all suit the 
wants of those who, as in the present instance, would not be able to convert it 
into ready money for their immediate necessities. 

For these reasons the parties interested cannot accept the offer of indemnifi- 
cation made to them in your excellency's letter to me above mentioned, and must 
hold the Mexican government responsible for all loss and prejudice accruing to 
them through that govornment failing to repay the. money owing within the time 
specified. 

As, however, it would not be courteous absolutely to refuse the offer made in 
your excellency's letter of the 12th, I have recommended the parties interested 
to name two amongst their number to wait on the commissioners appointed by 
your excellency, in order to leam from those gentlemen what further steps the 
Mexican government intends taking with a view of satisfying this pending claim 
against them. 

I have just learned that Mr. Whitehead and Mr. Watson have been appointed 
by the English merchants to confer with your commissioners, Don Jose M. Mata 
and Don Francisco Zarco, and I trust that, in the conferences about to be held 
between them, some means may be found for protecting the interests, and at the 
same time satisfying the just demands, of those persons in whose name I have 
had the honor to address you. 
I avail, &c. 

0. LENNOX WYKE. 



260 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



No. 12. 

Sir C Wyhe to Lord J. Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, June 25, 1861. 

A perusal of my preceding despatches and their enclosures will prove to joixr 
lordship that no further reliance can be placed on the promises or even the 
formal engagements of the Mexican government. 

If the old church party succeeds in driving from power the present ultra 
liberal administration, we shall then be even still worse off, as will be seen by 
the enclosed copy of a decree recently sent to me by ex-President Zuloaga, avIio, 
with his lieutenant, Marquez, is at the head of a considerable armed force, which, 
after twice defeating the government troops, is at this very moment attacking 
the gates of the city of Mexico. 

It will thiTS be seen that, with the contending parties, we have not a chance 
of obtaining justice from either as long as we confine ourselves to remonstrating 
instead of employing coercion. 

Under such circumstances it appears to me that only two courses are open to 
us, viz : either to withdraw the mission altogether from a country where its dig- 
nity is compromised, and where, consequently, it has become useless, or else to 
support its influence by such means as will compel obedience to oiir just demands, 
and obtain that redress for the wrongs and grievances of British subjects which 
they are lawfully entitled to claim. 

There is but one way of obtaining such redress, and that is by employing her 
Majesty's naval forces simultaneously at the ports on both coasts of this repub- 
lic, when the moral effect produced would equal the material pressure, and 
insure prompt compliance with any conditions which we might choose to 
impose. 

Captain Aldham, who during the last three years has gained a very clear 
insight into the Mexican character, and the manner of evading their engage- 
ments so peculiar to their officials, is of opinion that the time for leniency is 
past, and that if we mean to protect the lives and properties of British subjects 
coercive measures must now be employed. 

Before he left the station I consulted with him upon the best means of using 
such coercion should it become inevitable, and I will now convey his views to 
your lordship in as few words as possible. 

He thinks that a blockade is not advisable, on account of the large force that 
would be required for that purpose on so extensive a line of coast, to say nothing 
of the commercial difficulties to which it would give rise, besides the fact that 
by so blockading we should actually be robbing ourselves of the percentage on 
the duties levied at Vera Cruz and Tampico. 

This plan, then, presenting so many objections. Captain Aldham is of opinion 
that the next best thing to be done is to take possession of the custom-houses 
of Vera Cruz, Tampico, and Matamoros, on the Atlantic ; and of either Acapulco, 
Mazatlan, or San Bias, on the Pacific ; to lower the duties on all goods landed 
at those places ; and to pay ourselves by the percentage to which we are enti- 
tled, but which we now never obtain, owmg to the rascality of the Mexican 
authorities, who either suspend payment altogether, or only give us one-fifth of 
what we ought to receive. Reducing the tariff would paturally largely increase 
the importations, and thus enable us rapidly to pay off long arrears of what is 
now owing to us, and which we shall never obtain without some measure of 
this sort being adopted. 

It may be urged against this plan, that the Mexican government would place 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 261 

a line of interior custom-liouses for levying other duties, and thus partially defeat 
the object we have in view. Bnt this objection is easily set aside by anybody 
really knowing the country, as the badly paid and venal officers serving on this 
second line would not be able to resist the temptations which the importers at 
the ports who had paid only a low entrance duty would know how to throw in 
their way ; besides, the Mexican traders themselves would not allow such an 
impost to be levied, and would, for their own interests, force the goods into the 
interior, when, by their sale, they would realize large profits. 

In order to take and hold these places, Captain Aldham considers that a 
squadron of from six to ten vessels-of-war should be employed ; some of these 
should be of the frigate class, and others gunboats drawing not more than from 
seven to eight feet of water. ^ 

Vera Cruz and Tampico are the most important places on the Atlantic, owing 
to their trade and the specie shipped there, and these are the only places on 
either coast which would, in Captain Aldham's opinion, require any force to take 
possession of. Two frigates at the anchorage, and a garrison of 300 men for 
the Castle of San Juan de Ulloa, would be sufficient to hold the former town, 
it being completely commanded by the castle which is roomy and airy, and not 
unfitted, Captain Aldham says, for a British garrison. 

Tampico lies some seven miles up the river, which has seldom more than six 
to ten feet of water on the bar. There would be no difficulty in taking the 
place, and a gan-ison.of from 100 to 200 men, with one or two gunboats, he 
thinks enough to hold it. 

On the Pacific coast, Acapulco is probably the most important place for trade ; 
Mazatlan comes next, and then San Bias. 

The former has a good anchorage, but its climate is unhealthy. Mazatlan 
could easily be garrisoned by a small force, and there is high gi'ound overlooking 
the town already fortified, 

San Bias is an open roadstead, and unsafe in the rainy season; it is of im- 
portance from its trade and the specie shipped there. 

For the object we have in view, I think taking one or two of these places 
quite sufficient, and the naval officer in command on that coast could use his 
discretion as to which of them he should occupy. 

Should her Majesty's government adopt a course which I am convinced will pre- 
vent all future difficulties with Mexico, the sooner measures are taken for carrying 
this plan into execution the better, for the sake of putting a stop to an accumu- 
lation of grievances and claims which will go on increasing until this govern- 
ment is taught that it cannot set every principle of justice at defiance with 
impunity. 

The French' have only a small debt of ^190,000 to recover, which is being 
chiefly paid off by 25 per cent, of the import duties levied at Vera Cruz on car- 
goes brought in French ships. The Spanish claim 8 per cent, on all import 
duties for some claim of theirs which is in suspense, and therefore the interest 
thereon is not paid. Besides this they have what is known as the Padre Moran 
claim of ?§825,000, which receives about a sixth of the sum assigned to the British 
convention. 

I mention these obligations to foreign governments because they would gladly 
see our occupation of these ports, from a knowledge that, under our administra- 
tion, justice would be awarded to all, and that the money thus collected would 
be fairly distributed amongst the various claimants. 

From the moment that we sliow our determination no longer to suffer British 
subjects to be robbed and murdered with impunity we shall be respected, and 
every rational Mexican will approve of a measure which they themselves are 
the first to say is necessary, in order to put a stop to the excesses daily and 
hourly committed under a government as corrupt as it is powerless to maintain 
order, or cause its own laws to be execnted. 



262 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Enclosure in No. 12. 

Decree. 

[Translation.] 

Felix Zuloaga, general of brigade and president ad interim of tlie Mexican 
republic, to its inhabitants. Be it known — 

That in virtue of the full powers with which I am invested, I have been pleased 
to decree the following : 

Article 1. The party in Mexico that at present assumes the title of govern- 
ment, not possessing any character of legality, aft its acts are null and void, and 
for the same reason the government of Tacubaya does not recognize any engage- 
ments that may be entered into with the government that has intruded itself into 
power. 

Art. 2. Every individual who shall lend to the faction denominated " Con- 
stitutional" any sort of help, whether as a loan or in any other manner, shall 
pay afterwards to the government of Tacubaya double the quantity that he may 
have furnished, and will remain subject to the penalties which he may have 
incurred, as settled by the law, as an enemy of his country. 

Art. 3. All foreigners, of whatever nationality they may be, are included in 
the preceding articles. 

Given at headquarters, at Tepeji del Rio, this 4th of June, 1861. 

FELIX ZULOAGA. 

Don Antonio Andradb, 

Under Secretary of State charged witJi the Department. 

I have the honor to communicate the above to your excellency for your in- 
formation, and for the due fulfilment of the same. 

God and order ! 

J. ANTO. ANDEADE. 
. Tepeji del Eio, June 4, 1861, 



No. 13. 
Sir C. TVyhe to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, June 27, 1861. 

My Lord : Although the enclosed extract from this day's " Mexican Extra- 
ordinary" gives an account of the outrages perpetrated on British subjects which 
is not accurate in all its details, I still think it worthy of your lordship's notice, 
as showing at a glance the amount of wrong done, which still remains to be 
atoned for. 

The list is unfortu.nately by no means complete, but I forward it as it is, in 
order that your lordship may form an idea of the indignation felt by the English 
community in Mexico at being subjected to such brutality, without ever obtain- 
ing redress from the successive governments of this republic, each of which 
invariably asserts that it is not responsible for the acts of its predecessor. 
I have, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO, 263 

Enclosure in No. 13. 

Extract from the ''Mexican Extraordinary''' of June 27, 1861. 

Foreign Interests in Mexico. — No. 2. 
British claims of the small and most distressing class. 

Ou the 25tli of last month we refen-ed at some length to the condition of 
British interests in Mexico. We now resume the subject, and shall notice on 
this occasion a portion of the most flagrant outrages which have heen perpetrated 
upon British residents, leaving for another occasion the publication of more, and 
our own lengthened remarks. The robbery of the legation and the various 
"eonductas" are subjects fresh in the memory of every one, and as these outrages 
affect the interests of the Avealthy and influential, they are likely to absorb that 
attention whicl^i should, we submit, be shared by the humbler sufferer. Our 
mission is to lay facts before the world and thus to excite action, and it little 
matters whether it be from motives of duty or from shame, so long as our proper 
protectors are made to move. In continuation we give a brief notice of some 
of the objects of our present article : 

Mr. Bodmer's case. — This gentleman, who was her Majesty's vice-consul at 
Tasco, was shot in the balcony of his house whilst endeavoring to save an un- 
fortiTuate Mexican from ill-treatment at the hands of some of Vicario's troops, 
who had made a sudden irruption into the toAvn. Mr. Bodmer was a man uni- 
versally respected; upon three several occasions had he saved the city of Tasco 
from being sacked by one or other of the contending parties. He held a very 
lucrative appointment in the mine of the Pedregal, and has left a widow and 
three children, totally unprovided for. 

Mr. BurnancVs casd. — This gentleman was the first to establish a manufactory 
of glass in this country. 

In the year 1852 he erected on some property, situated about five leagues 
from the city of Mexico, a manufactory on a very considerable scale, and had 
just got it into working order, ;vvhen the whole of the premises Avere arbitrarily 
taken possession of by Santa Anna, and it was not until the end of 1856, when 
Oomonfort came to the head of affairs, that the property was restored to him, 
but in so dilapidated and ruined a condition that it was two years before he 
could place the factory in a proper state to resume operations. In March 1860 
the factory was attacked by a portion of the liberal forces and sacked, and on 
the 2d of April of the same year another body of men belonging to the same 
party entered the premises at night, attacked Mr. Burnand, inflicted on him 
sixteen sabre cuts, broke three of his ribs, left him for dead, and effectually de- 
stroyed all that had been spared by their predecessors. The life of Mr. Burnand 
was for a long time despaired of, his left arm had to be amputated, and he is 
noAv a man wreck. The shock was so great that his poor Avife lost her senses, 
and his eldest daughter has -now since been subject to epileptic fits. From being 
a man of considerable property, Mr. Burnand has been reduced almost to a state 
of starvation. Maimed, mutilated, and reduced in health, it is no longer in his 
power by his own exertion to provide for his unfortunate family, and all he has 
to look to is the reparation that may be exacted from the Mexican nation for 
these repeated and fearful outrages. Shoiild this case fall under the observation 
of her Majesty's ministers, as Ave trust it Avill, sin-ely immediate steps Avill be 
taken to relieve this gentleman and his family from the utter state of destitution 
into which they have been plunged. 

Dr. DuvaVs case. — Dr. IJuval Avas an Englishman, born at Kensington, near 
London. When the constitutional forces entered Tacubaya, on the 22d of March, 



264 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

1859, lie was at the head of the medical staff, a position he retained until the 
day of his death. On the 11th of April, Marquez entered Tacnbaya at the 
head of the reactionary forces, and, in taking possession of the hospital of San 
Diego, promised most solemnly that the lives of the sick and wounded, as well 
as those of the medical men, were safe. At half-past 7 o'clock of the same 
evening, however, m spite of this assurance, and in violation of the oi;diiiary 
laws of civilized warfare. Dr. Duval, in company with seven other medical men, 
was taken out and shot. ^ He was not allowed to commtmicate with any of his 
countrymen, and it was not until the following- morning that this monstrous 
murder became generally known, Notwithstanding the most strenuous efforts 
made by the Miramon government, with the connivance of Mr. Otway, to justify 
this horrid proceeding, so damning was the evidence that the British government 
could do no otherwise- than insist upon some pecuniary compensation for the 
widow and child of their murdered citizen. 

The amount fixed was $25,000, but no steps were taken to exact this sum 
from the murderers during their continuance in power, nor has the same, as far 
as we can learn, been paid. 

Mr. Newall's case. — Mr. Newall, an inhabitant of Zacatecas, a member of one 
of the oldest and most respected firms in the country, as agent for Mr. Davis, of 
San Luis Potosi, received the sum of $15,950, and gave the usvial receipt. This 
receipt fell into the hands of Marquez, who sent for Mr. Newall, and required 
of him, at once, to hand over the money. Mr. Newall replied that it was im- 
possible for him to do so, as the money was not his. The general then called 
in a guard and said, " Take this man, put him in ' capilla,' (the place assigned 
to criminals for the few hours previous to their execution,) and without further 
orders shoot him to-morrow morning before six o'clock." Mr. Newall was 
marched off, thrown into "capilla," and would, no doubt, have be,en shot, had 
not some of his friends raised the money amongst themselves, and paying it into 
the hands of Marquez, obtained his release. 

The English government showed their appreciation of the conduct of a citizen, 
who, at the risk of his life, refused to betray a trust reposed in him by another, 
by awarding him the very magnificent sum of 66500, the estimated value of a 
British merchant's life in Mexico. 

3Ir. Pitman^s case. — Mr. Pitman, of the firm of Simpson & Pitman, of San 
Luis Potosi, was imprisoned and made to pay the sum of $5,100, under the fol- 
lowing circumstances : 

When the constitutional forces were in possession of San Luis, Mr. Pitman, 
in the usual course of business, upon the admission of goods, paid the duties to 
the properly constituted authorities. Subsequently Miramon, the leader of the 
church faction, took possession of the town, and he demanded the payment over 
again of the same duties. Mr. Pitman, for refusing this exaction, was thrown 
into prison, and would have been marched off as a common soldier, had he not, 
to avoid the latter alternative, paid the amount. 

Mr. Davis's case. — This gentleman, in June, 1858, was assessed at $2,000 in 
a forced loan imposed upon the merchants of San Luis Potosi by G-eneral Mira- 
mon. This amount he refused to pay, as contrary to existing treaties. He was 
seized by Miramon, thrown into prison, subsequently marched off as a common 
soldier with the troops sent against the opposite faction, and only rescued by a 
friend who paid the $2,000, and obtained his release. 

Cases of Messrs. Whitehead and Potts. — These gentlemen were both banished 
from the country for expressing their horror at the atrocities that followed the 
massacre at Tacubaya, on the 11th April, 1859. 

Application was made to Mr. Otway in writing, pointing out to him the im- 
minent peril to which Englishmen were exposed if abandoned to the unbridled 
and savage will of Miramon and Marquez, who, without even a form of trial, 
slaughtered so many innocent victims at Tacubaya, and in cold blood, rather ■ 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 265 

more than two years ago. Amongst the murdered men was Dr. Duval, an 
English surgeon, who, with other medical men, was dragged from the bedside of 
the wounded, while amputating the shattered limbs and stanching the gushing 
arteries of numbers of poor creatures, who, from want of assistance, perished 
during that memorable and dreadful night. Lamentation brought them no aid. 
Marquez and Miraihon had murdered the only ones who could give them com- 
fort, and they bled to death ! 

Another English victim waSj at the same time, Avaiting the moment of execu- 
tion. Greorge Selly, a peaceable resident of Tacubaya, was seized and forced 
from his house, and, as poor Dr. Duval, without trial or inquiry, was taken 
out to be shot, but was miraculously saved by the timely interference of a 
Mexican officer, who met him on his way to the place of execution. 

As has been already mentioned, a brief statement of these horrors, signed 
by almost every Englishman here, was laid before Mr. Otway, imploring him 
to use his influence to check these cruelties, and asking protection for English- 
men from the grasp of these sanguinary men ; and, strange as it may seem, 
this document, by means better known than explained, made its appearance in 
the palace, where it was translated and published in pamphlet form, and the 
Miramon government accused the signers of having published it. The conse- 
quence of this was that orders were issued for the immediate banishment of 
five of those whose signatures appeared on the ' petition, Messrs. Potts and 
Whitehead being of the number. 

Remonstrances and repeated denials on their part to Mr. Otway of all knowl- 
edge or complicity in the affair were unavailing ; so, to satisfy the wishes and 
assist a zealous partisan in carrying out his treacherous designs against those 
he was paid to protect, the order was enforced, and these gentlemen left the 
country and laid their cases before Lord John Russell, who, on becoming 
acquainted with the outrage, demanded the withdrawal of the passports and 
fair indemnities. 

The amounts of these reclamations have been fixed in both cases in accord- 
ance with instructions from home, and demands have been made upon the 
Mexican government, and even payment promised; but, as these demands have 
not been insisted upon, the subject has remained where it was a year ago, whilst 
millions of dollars have been allowed to find their way into the pockets of 
people to whom the nation owed nothing. Those whose interests have been 
almost ruined by violence and jjhnidei' meet with but indifference and neglect. 

3Ir. Jo?ies's claim. — In the year 1826 Mr. R. Lancaster Jones was secretary 
to her Britannic Majesty's consul general in Mexico. On the solicitation of the 
governor of the State of Jalisco, and according to the popular spirit of the 
day in England, he went to Guadalajara and established a school on the Lancas- 
terian system. The Mexican government, permanently to secure his services, 
guaranteed him a fixed salary of $2,000 a year. From 1S26 to 1834 this 
salary was paid, but in the latter year Mr. Jones was turned out of his employ- 
ment without any pretext and left destitute. 

The case was brought imder the notice of the British legation, and in the 
year 1852 an arrangement was come to by which the Mexican government 
acknoAvledged the justice of the case and their indebtedness to Mr. Jones in 
$28,000. Not one dollar of this sum was ever paid to Mr. Jones, who died 
some years back in very distressed circumstances. The amount, with interest, 
is now claimed by the widow and children. 

A more cruel case it is almost impossible to conceive. A man holding an 
honorable and lucrative emjjloyment was, from purely philantliropic motives, 
induced to give it up, upon the promise of an annuity of $2,000 a year. After 
the interval of eiglit years tlie annuity is withheld, and tlie man and liis family 
are k'ft in absolute want. The robbery of a " conducta " may be a more 
striking event, and may more internally affect the interests of British merchants, 



266 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

but can it be a comparisdii, in point of hardsbip, witli tbe case of Mr. Jones 1 
And yet, forsootb, this injured man and his family have been allowed to drag 
through twenty-six years of suffering, and up to the present moment no steps 
have been taken by our government to compel the payment of a sum which 
the Mexican government, in a settlement with her Majesty's legation, have 
themselves ..admitted to be due. 

George Selly. — Was residing in Taciibaya at the time the constitutional 
forces retired on the 11th April, 1859. About 12 o'clock on that day, Avhilst 
'at breakfast with his wife and child, was seized in his own house and conducted 
to San Diego, and there confined with Duval and the other victims of the famed 
massacre, whose fate he providentially escaped. He was kept there until the 
middle of the next day, and then led in triumph, at the head of the prisoners, 
through the streets of Mexico; was then taken to the citadel, locked up in a 
filthy dungeon, and there kept until the following day, when he vas led out, in 
company with two others, and marched to Tacubaya to be shot, and providen- 
tially saved by the interference of a Mexican general, who met him on his way 
and who prevailed upon the officer in command to defer the execution, which 
gave time for the interference of Mr. Otway to take steps. 

The pi-etext for this barbarous treatment was that George Selly had mixed 
himself up with the liberal party ; this was disproved by the evidence of twenty- 
two of the most respectable inhabitants of Tacubaya, and the utmost that could 
be laid to his charge was, that during the continuance of the liberal forces in 
Tacubaya, he, as a means of livelihood, supplied the mess of four of the oificers. 
After much delay, from the unrighteous opposition of Mr. Otway, his govern- 
ment, more than a year back, declared that " Selly's entire innocence had been 
amply vindicated, and had established his claim to be compensated for the 
indignities to which he has been exposed." For this fearful outrage a sum of 
$'2,500 has, it is said, been asked as compensation, but no steps taken to enforce 
payment. Selly is a poor man. 

The case of Mr. Lrjnch. — On the 11th June, 1858, General Miramon, com- 
manding the reactionary forces at San Luis Potosi, imposed a forced loan upon 
the merchants of that town. Mr. Pitman, an English merchant residing in that 
. town, was assessed at $10,000, and required to pay the amount before night of the 
same day (11th June) on pain of imprisonment. The assessment in this case ap- 
pears to have been excessive, as firms possessing larger capitals had been assessed 
in much smaller sums. Mr. Pitman called upon the general to remonstrate with 
him upon these arbitrary proceedings, but was unable to see him. He was, how- 
ever, informed by others that it was Miramon's determination to carry out the 
loan, and that all Avho refused to pay, natives or foreigners, would be marched 
off as common soldiers with the troops about to leave that night. Mr. Pitman 
then -applied to Mr. Chabot, the English consul, but all that gentleman's exer- 
tions on his behalf proved unavailing. 

Mr. Pitman and his lady, fearing personal violence, took up their residence 
in Mr. Chabot's house, leaving his establishment in charge of Mr. Lynch, his 
confidential clerk, never for one moment supposing that any outrage would be 
committed against this latter gentleman. At six o'clock, however, of the following 
morning, the house was entered by order of Miramon. Mr. Lynch was taken 
to prison, and would have been marched off as a common soldier, had not Mr. 
Pitman requested Mr. Chabot to pay $6,000, the amoimt to which the assess- 
ment had been reduced, and so obtained his release. ' 

Case of Mr. R. J. Terry. — On the 18th October, 1858, this gentleman was 
arbitrarily arrested and thrown into prison by General Zuloaga, then president 
of the capital, and kept in close confinement for several days, without being 
allowed to communicate with his consul, friends, or counsel. He was detained 
in prison and under arrest tAventy-eight days, without being brought to trial, or 
any charge or accusation being made against him ; without being consigned to 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 267 

any judge, or any declaration taken from liim, and even without being informed 
of the cause of his arrest ; and, finally, he was expelled the country at a few 
hours' notice, without being accused of any crime or misdemeanor. 

The consequence was, that he was suddenly obliged to close, settle, and wind 
up, at any sacrifice, or abandon all his accounts and business transactions to a 
considerable magnitude he had pending in this country after a continued resi- 
dence in it for nearly eighteen years. Those outrageous proceedings have 
caused his total ruin, and he now finds himself, after having spent the best 
years of his life in acquiring, by his honest industry, comparative affluence, 
reduced to want and ruin. 

On his arrival in England he applied to the British government for protection 
and redress, and after overcoming innumerable difficulties, has lately returned 
to this country under authority and at the suggestion of the foreign office, with 
the "^dew of prosecuting his claim there, but as yet has done so without any 
result. 

The alleged pretext for his prosecution was his supposed sympathy with the 
party now in power; the real motive or cause, as is well known here, being 
private matters of too delicate a nature to be made the subject of our comment. 

3Ir. WorralVs case. — Mr. Worrall was assessed for a forced loan, and on 
applying at the legation for advice, was shown by Mr. Otwa/ a despatch from 
Lord Malmesbury, which recommends British subjects to pay such forced loans 
under protest and on compulsion. In consequence of having made this protest, 
Mr. Worrall was arrested a few days afterwards in the public streets of Mexico, 
by Lagarde, and sent off to Vera Cruz next morning, having thus to abandon 
heavy private interests in this country. 

On submitting his claim for indemnity at the foreign office. Lord Malmesbury 

wrote him stating " that there was no justification for the conduct of the Mexican 

government in your case, and that it was his lordship's intention to instruct her 

* Majesty's minister in Mexico to require that you shall be properly compensated 

for the treatment you have undergone and the losses you have sustained." 

Although a convention was signed by Mr. Otway in March, 1859, assigning 
Mr. Worrall an indemnity, and although this government even directed Mr. 
Won-all, through the foreign office, to apply to Messrs. Barings for its amount,, 
yet no money was remitted, and up to the present moment not a dollar has 
been paid. 

Very little Acouragement is given to British subjects standing up for treaty 
rights if the present case is a fair instance of home protection. 

Claim of Messrs. Bates, Jamison ^ Co. — This claim is now represented by 
Messrs. Bates, Barton & Co., of the city of Mexico, and is for a sum of 
88,815 02, the unpaid balance of a government order for $98,000 for import 
duties illegally exacted. The interest has only been calculated up to the mouth 
of April, 1859. 

Mr. Charles B. Lamhley. — Plunder of his house, on two separate occasions, 
by soldiers under the command of chiefs of the constitutional party. 

Mr. Thomas Gillow. — Repeated embargoes of wagons, mules, and horses for 
the transport of cannon and military stores. As this claimant farms a very 
considerable estate, it is unnecessary to point out how serious must have been 
all consequential damages, in addition to those of the mere embargo. 

Mr. John, lanes. — Plunder of his store at Ejutla, in the department of Oajaca, 
by soldiers of the central government party, under the command of Cobos. 
There are a number more claims of the same character preferred by Englishmen 
resident in Oajaca, of which we have not yet received full details. 

Mr. Daniel Owen. — Plunder of his goods by soldiers of the central govern- 
ment, under the command of General Echeagaray, on the 17th April, 1858. 

Mr. John Sumner. — Plunder of his house at Tklpam, on the 17th October 



268 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

1858, by a party of soldiers under the command of the constitutional chief, 
Don Ignacio Delgado. 

Mr. Thomas Fuller. — Embargo by General Pueblita in November, 1856, of 
wagons, mules, and effects belonging to Mr. Fuller's extensive carrying estab- 
lishment, thereby disabling him from fulfilling a contract with the Real del 
Monte Mining Company for carrying ore from that company's mines at Pachuca 
to their ore depot at Real del Monte. The loss of this contract, in itself a most 
profitable one, is attested by the certificate of the director of the Real del Monte 
Company. It entailed upon Mr. Fuller very heavy additional expenses, as he 
had to maintain upwards of one hundred pack-mules without work. Subse- 
quently he was compelled to break up a very profitable carrying business, and 
sell the mules he was unable to maintain, in consequence of the loss of his con- 
tract, for a little more than half their original cost. In fact, this cruel outrage 
created such an embarrassment in the affairs of Mr. Fuller as to bring him to 
the verge of ruin, from which he has not recovered, and for which his claim will 
be very insufficient compensation. 

Mr. Willia)n Hooper. — Plunder of effects, consisting of wearing apparel, 
books, papers, accounts, and mathematical and other scientific instruments, by 
a body of revolutionary troops during the sacking of the city of Culiacan, 
department of Sinaloa, in the month of March, 1852, as attested by the judge 
of that city, Don Eustaquio Buelua, in a judicial document under date of 10th 
Mai'ch, 1856. 

Mr. Elliot Turnbtdl. — This claim originated in the forcible entry of a large 
body of troops into Turnbull's hacienda, about ten miles from the city of Puebla, 
in the month of May, 1858, and of robberies and destruction of property com- 
mitted by them. Mr Turnbull was especially recommended by her Majesty's 
ministers to obtain the necessary proofs. These proofs are now in his posses- 
sion, and consist of sworn declarations of several witnesses to the act, taken 
before the judge of the district. 

Extra duties illegally exacted. 

Messrs. Grraham, Geaves & Co $10,623 74 

Messrs. Bates, Barton & Co 4,929 87 

•Messrs. Watermeyer, Kauffman & Co 5,545 22 

Messrs. J. J. Schmidt & Co ♦ 5,246 82 

These claims originated in the following manner : By a sudden and unex- 
pected decree issued by the general government on the 31st of May, 1858, an 
extra 10 per cent. " internation" duty, and 20 per cent, import duty, were 
imposed on all goods coming from Vera Cruz. This imposition, contrary to the 
express stipulations of the existing tariff, Avas at once most energetically pro- 
tested against by her Majesty's minister. The decree, although not repealed, 
was never again acted upon by the Mexican government — a clear admission of 
its illegality. 

The number of instances in which foreign governments have demanded and 
compelled restitution of sums thus illegally exacted are too well known to 
require enumeration, and it is unnecessary for us to point out how impossible it 
would be to carry out successfully any commercial transactions under a system 
of tariif at any moment admitting of sudden and arbitrary changes by the Mexi- 
can government, or the illegality of their act : the sums exacted during the 
temporary operation of the decree still remain unpaid. 

These sums, requiring no farther proof or verification than the production of 
custom-house receipts, ought, we submit, to be considered as admitted claims. 

Matamoros Fire Claim.— fi'lns is a claim for goods destroyed by fire at 
Matamoros in October, 1851. The goods were warehoused in a house occupied 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 269 

by the government forces under G-eneral Avalos. The town was suddenly- 
attacked by Carbajal, at the head of the rebel forces. The block of houses in 
w^iich the goods were placed formed a prominent point in the line of defence, 
and was fortified and held by a portion of the government troops. It was sub- 
sequently set fire to by the rebels, and the whole of the goods were destroyed. 
No notice was given by General Avalos of his intention to fortify the block, 
nor was any time given or opportunity afforded for the removal of the goods. 
A certificate of General Avalos proves the occupation and fortification of the 
premises for the purposes of defence, and their destruction by fire. 

No valid objection has ever been raised by the Mexican government to this 
claim, and their liability to make good the losses inflicted upon the losers, 
Messrs. Bates, Jamison & Co., under such circumstances, cannot admit of a 
doubt. The principle has been so clearly laid down in numberless cases, that 
to hold a different doctrine would be subversive of the very first principles of 
international law. To admit of a different principle in a country like Mexico, 
ever torn by internecine strife, would be to place the property of neutrals 
unconditionally at the mercy of military chiefs. The decree issiied by President 
Juarez upon the occasion of the bombardment of Vera Cruz by General Mira- 
mon, in the month of April last year, providing for the indemnification of neu- 
trals w^hose property had suffered by that bombardment, places the question 
beyond dispute. The subject has been frequently urged upon the consideration 
of the Mexican government, but hitherto without results. 

The claim now put forward by Messrs. Bates, Barton & Co., as successors to 
Bates, Jamison & Co., is for — 

226 packages of merchandise destroyed under the circumstances 

above detailed, of the value, of $'37,144 04 

And interest, at 6 per cent., to April, 1859 20,389 07 

Total ! 57,524 11 



The foregoing list of claims against the Mexican nation, although it does not 
contain all, presents such a frightful catalogue of murder, spoliation, and robbery, 
that, except it was vouched for on the most solemn and truest grounds, would be 
scarcely cj-edited; scarcely credited, indeed, as having happened in a so-called 
civilized country against the siibjects of a friendly nation ; and yet this cata- 
logue of outrage is still very incomplete, for many individuals, such as Staines, 
Egerton, Gibson, and others, have lost their lives by attacks in the streets, in 
their dwelling-houses, and on the public roads. 

Justice has, indeed, here iron hands and leaden feet, but they are never lifted 
in favor of the defenceless foreigner ; some little show of mquiry, a <jonstant and 
incessant persecution of witnesses, and never-ending expenses and outlay to, 
perhaps, some spirited prosecutor, ending in a mockery of investigation and an 
impunity for crime, are generally the utmost attained. 

Who can ever tell of the bitter dying anguish of these neglected victims, and 
how in their awful moments of desertion the hopeless conviction haunted them 
that no inquiry would be made of their fate, and no punishment fall on their 
assassins 1 

And' who can tell what desolation the love of fathers, sons, and brothers may 
have caused in some far-away homestead ; how, instead of gladdening news, they 
have finind that the angel of desolation has passed by and rendered their hearths 
desolate ! 

In the name of humanity outraged we call for energy in redress against this 
Avholesale trampling on treaties and international laws, and exactions from a 
country that professes to belong to the family of .nations, a regard to the ordi- 
nary tenets of humanity, and a concordance with the creed of civilization. 



270 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 14. 
Sir C. Wylce to Lord J. Riissell. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, June 28, 1861. 

The past month has been fertile in events not only tragic in themselves, but 
terrible also from affording convincing proof of the degradation to vfhich this 
unfortunate republic has been reduced by the vindictive spirit of contending 
factions. 

My correspondence by last mail informed your lordship that the church party 
was still in arms, led by ex-President Zuloaga and his lieutenant general, Mar- 
quez, who, at the head of between 2,000 and 3,000 men, were enabled not only 
to hold their ground, but actually to drive the government troops before them, 
and ravage the whole valley of Mexico. 

On the 2d instant news reached this city that Marquez had seized and shot 
Senor Ocampo, one of the leading men of the liberal party, and recently their 
minister for foreign affairs, who for the moment had retired from public life, and 
was living quietly on his estate in the country. This intelligence caused the 
greatest excitement here, and gave rise to threats of vengeance against those 
unfortunate members of the church party who were confined in the prisons of 
this city. 

The feeling of hatred against them became so strong that their relatives flocked 
to the different legations and implored our intercession with the government to 
protect the lives of the prisoners against the fury of the rabble. The French 
minister, as doyen of the diplomatic corps, called a meeting of the different 
foreign agents resident here, whet it was unanimoixsly agreed that Ave should 
seek an interview with the president, calling on him in the name of humanity to 
save these unfortunate persons, and at the same time to vindicate the authority 
of his government against the attempts of that violent party in the State which 
meditated the commission of such a crime. 

His excellency received us very graciously, and stated that we need not be 
under the least anxiety, as he had already given orders for the guards to be 
doubled at the different prisons, besides adopting other measures to frustrate the 
evil intentions of those who wished thus to disgrace themselves and the country 
to which they belonged. 

-The president kept his word, for that very night when the rabble rushed to 
the prisons they were^ kept in check by the military, and obliged to disperse 
without effecting their object. 

This interview took place on the 4th instant, and there were present at it, 
besides the president and the secretary of state for foreign affairs, the ministers 
of France, England, Prussia, the United States, and the charge d'affaires of 
Ecuador. 

In the congress stormy debates followed, and General Degollado, another dis- 
tinguished member of the liberal party, asked for a command in order to pursue 
Marquez, and revenge the death of his former colleague. His request was 
granted in the midst of the greatest enthusiasm, and in a few days he marched 
at the head of a division towards Toluco in pursuit of the enemy. Whilst 
reconnoitring with a small party on the 16th instant, he was surprised by 
General Galvez, his party was dispersed and cut to pieces, and he himself 
kiUed. 

The news of this event on reaching Mexico only added fuel to the fire, and 
General Ortega marched at the head of a strong body of government troops to 
repair the disaster. Marquez retired before him from the 14th to the 23d. The 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 271 

pursuit was hotly maintained, and General Valle, the most promising officer of 
the liberal party, marched with 1,500 men to tiy and intercept Marqnez and 
force him to action. The latter by a masterly manoeiivre joined Galvez, and 
with the united, forces fell upon Valle, utterly routed and dispersed his forces, 
took him prisoner, shot him, and then hung his body on a tree. But one of 
the government officers escaped to tell the tale ; the others, with many of the 
poor soldiers, were butchered after the action. 

These tidings ^read terror in this community ; the national guard was called 
out, and the city has been declared under martial law. On the 25th a party of 
400 of Marquez's men forced their way into the suburb of San Cosme, and at 
one time it Avas thought would have captured the city, as they were supposed to 
be the vanguard of a much larger force. After carrying away sonie of their 
party who were prisoners in that part of the town, they retired with the loss 
of only one man killed and a feAV wounded. 

These events, by proving the miserable improvidence of the present govern- 
ment, have completely discredited President Juarez, and his retirement is now 
looked upon as an absolute necessity for the good of the commonwealth. As a 
preparatory step towards it. General Ortega has been elected vice-president, in 
order to succeed to the presidential chair when Juarez resigns. Ortega, I fear, 
will do no better. 

Congress has voted $10,000 apiece forthe heads of Marquez and half a dozen 
other chiefs of the church party ; but there is no probability of the money being 
called for, which is so far fortunate for the credit of congress, as that sum is not 
at present to be found in the national treasury. 

I do not enter into details of persons carried off from here by Marquez to be 
either shot or ransomed, because by so doing I should only unnecessarily 
increase the length of this despatch, but will merely add that nothing I can 
write would give your lordship a correct idea of the miserable and disgraceful 
disorder which now reigns here, and which is only another proof, if one were 
wanted, of the utter incapacity, of these people to govern themselves. 

The church party are daily gaining ground, and, it is feared, may eventually 
succeed in capturing this city and driving the present government again into the 
j)roviuces, thereby renewing all the horrors of a civil war which has devastated 
this unfortunate country for the last three years. 

The Guzman ministry resigned ten days ago, and such are the difficulties of 
the situation that no men have been yet found who are willing to take their 
places. In the meantime business is brought to a standstill, and any note one 
has to address to the foreign -department remains unanswered. 



No. 15. 
Earl Russell to Sir C. Wykc. 



Foreign Office, August 21, 1861. 

Sir: I have received and laid before the Queen your despatches of the 24th, 
25th, 27th, and 2Sth of June, and, I have to. convey to you the entire approval 
of lier Majesty's govei'umcnt of your conduct as therein reported. 

Hrsr Majesty's government have read, with much concern, your account of 
the deplorable condition of Mexico, but her Majesty's governm(;nt cannot accept 
that condition as an excuse for the Avant of good faith shown by the late acts of 
the Mexican government, and by the tone of Senor Guzman's correspondence 
with you. 

It appears to her Majesty's government to be useless to continue negotiations 



272 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

with that government, either as regards the repayment of the proceeds of the 
conducta robbery, or the money stolen from the British legation, or the non- 
fulfilment of the Aldham and Dunlop compacts ; and her Majesty's government 
will, accordingly, in such manner as they shall deem most suitable, adopt more 
active measures to obtain redress. 

I have now to instruct you to demand, in the first instance, of the govern- 
ment of Mexico, that in the ports of Vera Cruz and Tampico commissioners 
shall be placed, who shall be named by the British governro^nt, for the purpose 
of appropriating to the powers having conventions with Mexico the assignments 
which those conventions prescribe, which shall be paid out of the receipts of the 
maritime custom-houses' of the republic ; including, in the sums to be paid to the 
British government, the amount of the conducta robbery and the money stolen 
from the British legation. 

You will also require that the commissioners shall have the power of reducing 
by one-half, or in any less proportion, the duties now levied at those ports. 

If these terms are not complied with you will leave Mexico with all the 
members of your mission. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 16. ' 
Earl Russell to Sir C. Wyhe, 



Foreign Office, August 21, 1861. 
Sir : With reference to your despatch of the 24th of June, and its several 
enclosures, I have to state to you that her Majesty's government must insist on 
the restoration of the $660,000 stolen from her Majesty's legation, and that if 
that mouey is not restored friendly relations between the two governments cannot 
be maintained. 

I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 17. 

Sir C. WyJce to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, July 11, 1861. ' 

My Lord : By the enclosed extract from this day's " Mexican Extraordi- 
nary" yoiTr lordship will perceive that another British subject has been mur- 
dered, under circumstances of peculiar atrocity. 

The deceased's nephew, after searching in vain throughout the village of 
Tacubaya for some sort of legal authority to take a deposition on the spot, and 
perform the usual formalities necessary in such a case, was obliged to have the 
body removed into this city, when he reported to the British consul what had 
taken place, requesting him to acquaint the authorities therewith in order that 
some steps might be taken for the apprehension of the ofi'enders. 

Mr. Glennie had considerable difficulty in overcoming the apathy of the 
of6.cials, both military and civil, for murder has now become a matter of such 
everyday occurrence that it excites little or no attention. At length, however, 
he succeeded, and, the usual forms having been gone through, the body was 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 27^ 

next day interred, Mr, Walsham, Mr. Glennie, and a numerous body of BritiBh 
residents following it to the grave. 

On becoming aware of what had occurred, I addressed, in the absence of any 
minister for foreign affairs, a note to the official mayor of that department, copy 
of which I have herewith the honor to enclose, together with a translation of 
his reply thereto, by which your lordship will perceive that they were shamed 
into affording some protection to a place that ought never to have been left 
defenceless, and also that they promised to take measures for detecting the 
authors of this atrocious crime. 

It is impossible to give your lordship an idea of the state of anarchy and 
disorder into which this country is plunged under the misrule of this incompe- 
tent government. The high roads all over the republic are swarming with rob- 
bers, and murders are constantly committed in the most frequented streets of 
the capital, without the culprits ever being, in any one instance, either captured 
or punished. 

I shall spare no effort to ascertain who were poor Beale's assailants ; but, if I 
even svicceed, there is not a chance of their being brought to justice, for crime 
is now triumphant, and no judge would dare, ixnder existing circumstances, to 
vindicate the law, which, in matters of criminal jurisdiction, has become a dead 
letter. 

I have, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 1 ia No. 17. 
Extract from the " Mexican Extraordinary" of July 11, 1861. 

News topics. — The daily events of Mexico have become so alike that one 
is induced to ask, on getting up in the morning, "Who has been robbed?" 
" Who has been murdered ?" 

Since our last publication the event that has caused most sensation has been 
the murder of Mr. H. M. Beale, one of the very oldest British residents of 
Mexico, at his residence at the village of Naples. The news of this melancholy 
event reached here early on the morning of the 7th, and caused that degree of 
horror and alarm (not surprise) which similar events are likely to create amongst 
people who exist in a state of anxiety for their own lives and property. 

The facts of this murder are as follows: About 11 o'clock on the night of the 
6th a force of some twenty-five or more men on horseback made their appear- 
ance in the village of Naples. They were well armed, and came in with a 
trumpet sounding. Soon after entering the place (which, by the way, is an 
embryo village of five or six houses) they made a descent upon the house of 
Mr. Beale, Avhich is the principal one, and commenced to fire at the windows 
and doors. All the inmates of the house appear to have been in bed. Mr, 
Beale was awakened, and, it is believed, was wounded by the first discharge. 
He at once got up, and rushing to the room of an old lady (Mrs. Wylie) who 
was stopping with him, took her to the roof of the house for safety. He thea 
descended to the lower floor, and, being unarmed, spoke with the assailants, 
who had then broken into the house, and offered them the liberty to take what 
they might wish, supposing, as he had a riglit to do, that he could have no 
mortal enemies, and that their object was merely to rob. 

In reply to his offer and assurance that he had no arms, he was told that 

they only sought his life "as a foreigner," their mission being to kill foreigners, 

and not to rob. This declaration was followed ■ by some remonstrance on his 

part, when he was struck upon the head with a sword, and the work of assassi- 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 18 



274 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

nation commenced, amid the most frightful oaths, and cries of " Death to 
foreigners !" 

At the time of the attack there was another foreigner in the house, but he 
made his escape from a window, and fled to Tacuhaya, where he gave notice to 
a friend of Mr. Beale, (Mr. Bueron,) who proceeded to Naples. When he 
arrived he found the place deserted by the murderers, and poor Beale quite 
dead. The body was brought to this city the same day, and examined by 
physicians named for the purpose by the government. The wounds were 
numerous, made by fire-arms, swords, knives, &c. The head was laid open in 
two places, and disfigured by bruises, cuts, and gunshot wounds, in the most 
horrible manner. In the breast were four wounds, two by fire-arms, and two by 
knives or swords. Both arms had wounds, and two deep incisions, apparently 
made by sword thrusts, were found in the lower part of the body. The corpse 
altogether presented a most shocking spectacle, not that alone of the victim 
of murderers, but of cowardly fiends who had wreaked upon it their most 
envenomed hatred. The funeral of Mr. Beale took place the day following, 
and, notwithstanding a drenching rain, the attendance was numerous. 

The victim of this atrocity was a British subject of many years' residence in 
this country, who had always been noted for his pacific and inoffensive charac- 
ter. He had never taken any part in the politics of the country, and it is not 
known that he ever so much as expressed an opinion in favor of one party or 
the other. When warned a few days before his death of the existence of 
danger, he laughed at the idea, and urged his entire neutrality as a guarantee 
that no one would molest him. He was a hard-working man, and the new 
village where he resided owed its name and existence to his untiring industry 
and. enterprise. He was a charitable man, as is well known by every>body, for, 
although unmarried, he had a considerable family made up of poor orphan 
children, who were fed, clothed, and cared for through his industry. His last 
act of kindness to Mrs. Wylie proves the true character of the deceased more 
than anything else. His first thought was to save the aged and infirm, and 
then go to face the danger. 

The death of this imfortunate man has, mth reason, created a deep feeling of 
alarm amongst the foreign residents of this place, who cannot longer look upon 
their situation but as precarious in the extreme. Had many others fallen as 
Mr. Beale has fallen, there might have been some explanation of the act — that 
they had been partisans, meddlers with the affairs of the country, or some of 
the many base reasons which have been advanced to palliate the murder of 
others of our countrymen. But here nothing of the kind can be advanced. Mr. 
Beale was "a foreigner," (a British subject,) and for being such has been mur- 
dered. The fact cannot be changed. We have not only the testimony of a 
child who witnessed the murder of Mr. Beale, and heard the threats of the 
assassins, but we have the fact that the houses of other foreigners in the same 
place were broken into, inquiries made for the owners, and, Avhen they were 
found absent, the repetition of the same cries of "Death to foreigners!" and 
threats to come back and murder them also. It was providential that no others 
shared the fate of Mr. Beale. 

The authors of this atrocity are supposed to be of the clergy forces scattered 
through the valley. This is natural to suppose, although the fact will probably 
never be proved. It matters little, however, of what force or party they are. 
It is alarming enough to know they have mtu'dered one of our countrymen, and 
have threatened to serve all of us in the same way, and that they are still at 
large to do as they please. 

Nothing has been done, as far as we can learn, to bring the criminals to 
justice, and we fear that it will be the fate of this case to pass like those of 
Staines, Gibson, Duval, Egerton, Bodmer, and others — one wail of horror, a 
home and hearth desolated, one or two formal stereotyped protests, and eternal 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 275 

silence. Surely we are an abandoned people. But the most ten-ible part of 
our abandonment is the anxiety, which no foreigner can free himself of, as to 
who niav be the next victim. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 17. 
Sir C. Wyke to Sehor Magarola. 

- Mexico, July 8, 1861. 

Sir : I yesterday learnt with feeling of horror and indignation, which I will 
not attempt to describe, the barbarous murder of a British subject named Beale, 
at a farm called "Napoles," by a party of thirty or forty men, who, after destroy- 
ing their victim, left the house without removing a single article from it, thereby 
proving that their sole motive was vengeance against a, man universally known 
as kind-hearted and inofiPensive, and who had never taken any part in the dis- 
sensions which distract this unfortunate country. 

His son-in-law, who lives in Tacubaya, on hearing what had occured, searched 
in vain throughout the village for some legal authority to proceed to the spot 
with him in order to verify the facts and draw up a proces verbal duly proving 
the crime, and the circumstances under which it had been committed. Failing 
in his object, he next applied to the British consul in this city, who, on address- 
ing the authorities here, was informed that the corpse must be brought into 
Mexico, as there was no person competent in Tacubaya to perform the legal 
formalities necessary to be fulfilled in such a case as this. 

It is perfectly incredible that the government should thus leave a place like 
Tacubaya, within three miles of the capital, inhabited by thousands of people, 
and containing much valuable property, totally destitute of any authority what- 
ever, either civil or military, to protect the lives of those who have every right 
to claim the protection of a government which is bound to watch over them. 

In bringing this dreadful case to your notice I must request that you will 
immediately inform me what steps have been taken for the detection and punish- 
ment of the assassins who have committed this murder, and let me know at the 
same time what measures have been adopted to prevent outrages of a similar 
nature being again perpretrated in a place close to the gates of the capital. 

If I had supposed Tacubaya had been thus left defenceless I should have 
warned all my countrymen to leave a place which everybody thought was 
under the direct and immediate protection of the general commanding the district. 
In conclusion I must again urge on you the necessity of giving me an immediate 
reply to the demand I now address you, not only for the sake of justice to the 
deceased, but also for the due protection of those British subjects still resident 
in the actual vicinity of the city. 
I avail, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 17. 
Senior Magarola to Sir C. Wyke. 
[Translation.] 
National Palace, Mexico July 8, 1861. 

Sir: Before re>ceiving your excellency's note of this day's date tlie govern- 
ment had been informed of the assassination committed on the person of the 



276 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Britieli subject Beale, and had, in consequence, ordered all the necessary mea- 
sures for the investigation of the deed and the prosecution of the culprits so 
soon as they shotdd be arrested. 

The government itself, full of indignation at this crime, desires that its authors 
should suffer condign punishment, and has again given orders to the general-in- 
chief and to the governor of the district to take active measures, and to inform 
this department of what has already been done, and what it is their intention to 
do, not only in this case, but also about the matter which your excellency was 
pleased to lay before me. 

As soon as the information referred to has been received in this department I 
shall have the pleasure to transmit it to your excellency, assuring you in the 
meanwhile that this government will spare no effort, as far as it may be in its 
power, to give its protection to the life and property of the inhabitants of the 
district. 

I avail, &c., 

LUCAS DE PALACIO Y MAGAROLA. 



No. 18. 
Sir C. Wyke to Lord J. Russell. 

[Extract.] ' 

Mexico, July 26, 1861, 

After a perusal of the despatches I had the honor of addressing to you by 
the last mail, your lordship will, probably, not be surprised to learn that this 
government, encouraged by the apparent impunity with which they stopped 
payment of the assignments stipulated for by the agreements entered into with 
Captains Dunlop and Aldham, should have gone a step further, and suspended 
all payments assigned to their foreign claimants by the British, French, and 
Spanish conventions. 

This scandalous and dishonest act was announced in a new financial law 
issued by congress on the 17th instant, and published in newspapers and placards 
in the form of a decree by the president's order on the 19th. 

In this document, of which I have now the honor to enclose a translation, 
your lordship will perceive by article 1 that all payments, including the assign- 
ments destined for the London bondholders and the foreign conventions, are 
suspended for the space of two years. By article 13 the "contra registro," or 
duty on consumption of all foreign merchandise, is doubled within the federal 
district during the government's good pleasure, to enable them by these means, 
and those proposed by a tax on tobacco, to pay off in preference the debts con- 
tracted since the 29th of May last, as well as those they may incur for the 
expenses entailed on them in maintaining the public peace, or, in other words, 
carrying on the civil war. 

These are the two articles of the decree that directly affect foreigners ; the 
others bear more upon native interests, such as articles 12 and 13, by which the 
government is authorized to place an impost on tobacco, and to augment by 50 
per cent., up to the end of December next, the excise duties on national products 
within the federal district, comprising an area of eighty-nine square miles, with 
a population of about 300,000 souls. 

The "Junta," mentioned in article 6, is what we should term a special finance 
committee appointed for the reduction of the national debt by means of funds accru- 
ing from property formerly belonging to the church and other corporate bodies. 
Two members of the Junta are to be named from the different creditors of the 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 277 

iState; but those foreigners to wliom such an appointment has been offered 
have refused it with indignation. 

Such is the scheme hj which this government propose to free themselves from 
their engagements towards foreign powers, and to procu.re money sufficient to 
enable them to go on in the old scrambling disorderly way, living from hand to 
mouth by augmenting duties, levying contributions, and repudiating engagements 
which they are bound in honor to fulfil. 

The same evening that this decree was published I wrote a note to Senor 
^lamacona, minister for foreign affairs, asking him whether it was really authentic, 
as I could not bring myself to believe that the government actually meant thus 
to set at defiance an international obligation such as the British convention, 
which could not be put on one side at the will of one of the contracting parties, 
unless with the sanction of the other, and this too without in any way announcing 
their intention of doing so to this legation. 

In his reply of the 21st, herewith enclosed, your lordship will perceive the 
very lame attempt he makes to account for this uuportant omission, for even the 
"visit to which he refers was made twenty-four hours after the decree had been 
placarded in the streets of this capital. 

The second note, dated the 21st, translation of which I likewise enclose, is 
the one announcing the publication of the decree, to which he alludes in the 
first note as having been already sent to me, but which in reality only reached 
me an hour and a half after I had received the other. My letter of the 22 d refutes 
the arguments he uses to justify the decree, and contradicts the insinuation that 
I must have known of its being about to be issued. My note of the 23d is an 
answer to the official announcement of the decree, by which I solemnly protest 
against it, and warn Senor Zamacona that unless this obnoxious measure is 
withdrawn in forty-eight hours I shall suspend all further official intercourse 
with the Mexican government until I receive instructions from her Majesty's 
government with reference to this matter. 

The full forty-eight hours having expired without my having received any 
answer whatever to this communication, I again addressed him on the evening 
of the 25th, formally suspending my relations as I had threatened to do. An 
hour later I received two notes from his excellency, by the former of which he 
endeavors to make out that there is no necessity whatever for the step I have 
taken, and requested me, therefore, still to maintain my official relations with 
this government; this was in answer to my note written on the evening of the 
.23d, and the latter, in reply to the one of the 25th, complams that the full term 
of forty-eight hours was not accorded, for my note, w"hich was written the day 
before at 5 o'clock, had not been received by him until 7 p. m. As in the first 
of these Senor Zamacona states the impossibility, according to his view of the 
case, of withdrawing the decree, I could not, after the announcement of my 
determination, reply to him officially, and I therefore answered some incorrect 
statements contained in his note by a private letter, copy of which I have the 
honor likewise to enclose. 

It is very evident by the tone of these communications that they are now 
alarmed at the turn affairs have taken ; but their wretched vanity and pride will 
prevent them from taking any step to remedy the evil, and therefore I see no 
chance of the measure being withdrawn. 

Your lordship will thus perceive that it has become impossible any longer to 
suffer the illegal and outrageous proceedings of a government which neither re- 
spects itself nor its most solemn engagements. 

It is only by adopting coercive measures that we can force them to give up a 
system of violent spoliation, which in rciality is nearly as prejudicial to themselves 
as to those foreigners who are so unfortunate as to have brought their capital 
and industry to a country so misgoverned. 

On the publicjxtion of the decree, the British merchants resident here ad- 



278 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

dressed a letter to me, praying for my interference in their behalf, against the 
increase of duties on all foreign articles of consumption thus imposed on them. 
I enclose copy of their letter, together with my reply thereto. 

As long as the present dishonest and incapable administration remains in 
power, things will go from bad to worse ; but with a government formed of re 
spectable men, could such be found, the resources of the country are so great 
that it might easily fulfil its engagements, and increase three-fold the amount of 
its exportations, not only of the precious metals, but of those productions for 
which they receive British manufactured goods in exchange. Mexico furnishes 
two-thirds of the silver now in circulation, and might be made one of the richest 
and most prosperous countries in the world ; so that it becomes the interest of 
Great Britain to put a stop, by force if necessary, -to its present state of anarchy, 
and insist on its government paying what it owes to British siibjects. The 
moderate party, which is now cowed by the two opposing ultra factions in the 
State, would then raise its head, and encouraged by adopting the measures I 
pointed out as necessary in my last month's coiTCspondence, probably establish 
by themselves such a government as we require ; but without this moral support 
they fear to move, and hence the continuation of the deplorable state of things 
now existing. 

M. de Saligny, the French minister here, has acted in concert with me through- 
out this affair, and although the interests he has' to defend are trifling in com- 
parison to ours, he has used even stronger language ,than I have, for he does not 
merely suspend, but actually breaks off all official intercourse with the govern- 
ment, unless they rescind the decree of the 17th instant. 

I have not the least hesitation in saying that unless her Majesty's government 
take the most decided measures for proving to this government that it cannot 
thus act with impunity, British subjects resident here will remain defenceless, 
and their property be at the mercy of a set of men who disregard their most 
solemn engagements, whenever such interfere with either their caprice or rapa- 
city. 

From the tone of their notes to me anybody not on the spot would imagine 
that dire necessity had alone compelled them thus to act, whereas in reality, 
6,000,000 of hard dollars have actually passed through their hands within the 
last half year, to say nothing of the immense amount of church property in this 
district alone which has been dissipated in a manner, according to public rumor, 
utterly discreditable to the members of the government. 

Awaiting your lordship's instructions, I have, &c. 

P. S. — I have herewith the honor to transmit translations of another long pri- 
vate note from Senor Zamacona, containing only a repetition of the same sort o 
arguments he has used before. When I reply to it 1 shall merely acknowledge 
reception of a communication which in no way really affects the question at 
issue. 



Enclosure 1 in No. 18. 

Decree. 

[Translation.] 



The citizen Benito Juarez, constitutional President of the United Mexican 
States, to the inhabitants, know ye : 

That the sovereign congress of the union has deemed it well to address me 
the following decree : 

Article 1. From the date of this law, the government of the union will re- 
cover the complete product of the federal revenues, deducting from them only 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 279^ 

the expenses of the administration of collecting, and all payments are suspended 
for two years, including the assignments for the loan made in London and for 
the foreign conventions. 

Art. 2. The maritime custom-houses and all the other collecting offices of the 
federal revenixes will surrender all their products into the general treasury, being 
exclusively subject to the orders of the ministry of finances. On the 15th and 
on the last day of each month they will forward to the ministry a statement of 
their receipts and disbursements. 

Art. 3. Within the term of one month the government will form and publish 
an economical estimate of all public expenses, based on the estimate of the 31st 
December, 1855, conveniently reduced. The government is to subject itself to- 
this economical estimate from the day of its publication, and congress only has- 
the faculty of making changes afterwards. 

Art. 4. The payments in this estimate are to be made in the following manner : 

1. The armed force in campaign and in garrison. The material of war. The 
invalids and disabled soldiers. These payments are to be made complete, but 
no surplus can be admitted. 

2. The civil list in active service and the military list not in service. These 
payments, if under three hundred dollars, are to be made complete ; if above 
three hundred dollars they are to be made in strict and equal proportion. 

3. The classes pensioned by the nation are to be paid in strict and equal pro- 
portion, if the classes above mentioned have been paid before, as is ordered by 
the decree. 

Art. 5. If an order, not included in the estimates, is sent to the general 
treasury by government, an observation must be made by a communication of 
the government ; if repeated, the treasurer is to communicate it immediately to 
congress. If the treasurer does not make the observations here mentioned, he 
is to be destituted immediately. 

Art. 6. A superior committee of hacienda is instituted, composed of one 
president and four members named by government, with the sanction of con- 
gress. Two of them, at least, must be creditors of the nation. 

Art. 7. The attributes of the junta are the following: — 

1. To pay the loan made in London and the foreign conventions ; 

2. To pay the creditors not comprised in the law of the 30th November, 1850; 

3. To pay legal and posterior credits against the nation up to the 30th June 
of this year, including those comprised in the law of the 17th December, 1860j 

4. To receive the payment of what is due to the nation, if it be unknown to 
the collecting offices ; 

5. To administer and sell the nationalized clergy property, and to execute all 
the attributes of the law of disamortization and nationalization. 

6. To make arrangements, with the sanction of government, with all the per- 
sons interested in, or that have any business relative to, nationalized property ; 

7. To distribute all the funds collected amongst the creditors of the nation. 
The pi-oduct of the suppressed convents is to be applied to the creditors of the 
conducta of Laguna Seca, and after covering the estimates of the nunneries, the 
remainder is to be distributed to the creditors in the foreign conventions. 

Art. 8. In order that the junta may be able to fill the attributes confeiTed 
upon it by government, the following is assigned to it : — 

All the " pagares" existing in the special disamortization office; the product 
of all pending redemption ; tlie capitals not redeemed belonging to the nation, 
the buildings of the suppressed convents, the lands and all existhig materials. 
In tlie States and territories all the lands, convents, and buildings comprised in 
the law of nationalization, and all the products, except the 20 per cent, belong- 
itig to tlie same States and territories. The buildings and capitals expressly 
excepted by government are not comprised in this article. 

Art, 9. All this property will form a fund distinct of public credit ; the 



280 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

• 

employers in the district, the chiefs ("gefes superiores") of the finance depart- 
ment in the States and territories are to forward immediately to the junta the 
titles, deeds, notices, and corresponding documents. 

Art. 10. In the special law published for the conversion of public debt, the 
part to be delivered by the States is to be fixed and regulated. 

Art. 11. The government is authorized to publish a decree taxing tobacco ; 
this tax is to be collected for the federal treasury in all the republic. 

Art. 12. The government is authorized to increase, during the remaining 
months of this year, the alcabala of one-half per cent, more on national pro- 
ducts, excepting the articles of agricultural and manufacturing industry specified 
in the decree of the 24th September, 1855. 

Art. 13. The duty of " contra-registro" on foreign goods is increased to 
double in the district ; this increase is to be paid as long as the government may 
deem it necessary to fulfil the object of the following article. 

Art. 14. With the new product of the alcabala, the "contra-registro" and 
the tax imposed upon tobacco, the government will pay with preference all the 
debts contracted from the 29th of last May, and all those that it may contract 
for the re-establishment of public tranquillity, leaving extant all the orders that 
have been given on account of " refacciones" for the payment of the money 
taken in Laguna Seca. 

Art. 15. The governors of States and the employes of the collecting de- 
partment have no intervention whatever in the federal revenues. 

Art. 16. The government is authorized to reform and organize within one 
month all the offices on such a base that their estimates be reduced, and is 
authorized to increase the salaries of some employes, and to reduce their 
number. 

Given in the sessions hall of the congress of the union, on the 17th of July, 
1861. 

GABINO BUSTAMANTE, Deputy Treddcnt. 
FEANCISCO CENDEJAS, Secretary. 
E. ROBLES GIL, Deputy Secretary. 

For which I order that it be printed, published, circulated, and given due 
respect. 

Given in the national palace in Mexico, the 17th July, 1861. 

BENITO JUAREZ. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 18. 
Sir C. Wyhe to Senor Zamacona. 

Mexico, July 19, 1861. 

Sir : A printed paper, as strange in compilation as in the nature of its con- 
tents, was this day hawked about the principal thoroughfares of the city, and 
has now, I see, been reprinted in the columns of this evening's " Siglo." 

According to the wording of this document, it would appear that congress has 
thought fit to make a free gift of other people's property to the government of 
the republic by suspending for the space of two years the payment of all as- 
signments, as well to the London bondholders as to the parties interested in the 
foreign conventions. 

Until I hear from you to the contrary, I am bound to consider this announce- 
ment in the light of a fixlsehood ; for I cannot bring myself to believe that a 
government which respects itself could sanction a gross violation of its most 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 281 

sacred obligations to other nations, and then proclaim the fact of their having 
done so in a manner which, if possible, aggravates the offence. 

That the representatives of those nations who are thus slighted and injured 
should be allowed to learn, in the first instance by handbills circulated in the 
streets, that you have repudiated your engagements, is as unaccountable as the 
policy which could dictate a measure alike fatal to the character and credit of 
the republic. 

I will not dwell on other obnoxious paragraphs of this publication, as at pre- 
sent I cannot believe it to be authentic ; for when your excellency did me the 
honor of calling on me to-day, you in no way alluded to a subject which would 
otherwise surely have formed the chief topic of your conversation. 

Awaiting a reply at your earliest convenience, I avail, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 18. 

Senor Zatnacona to Sir C. WyTce. 

[Translation.] 

Mexico, Jidy 21, 1861. 

The undersigned, minister for foreign affairs, has had the honor of receiving 
from his excellency Sir Charles Lennox Wyke, her Britannic Majesty's envoy 
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, the note in which his excellency 
requests to be informed whether the decree of the federal congress providing for 
a total suspension of payments, not excepting those of the London bondholders 
and diplomatic conventions, is or is not authentic. 

His excellency's request might have been looked upon as anticipated by the 
explanation the undersigned had the pleasure of making yesterday at the lega- 
tion only a few minutes after the note, to which this is a reply, had been sent to 
the foreign office, indeed while it was yet on its way there; but the private 
character of that explanation renders it incumbent upon the undersigned to 
recapitulate a portion of it in the present communication. 

In the first place, he begs to assure Sir Charles Wyke that so soon as the 
decree of yesterday was made known to him through the department of finance, 
he proposed to bring it at once to the cognizance of his excellency, though 
anxious that this step should be preceded by a visit, at which it was the inten- 
tion of the undersigned to give' Sir Charles Wyke a fuller and more detailed 
explanation of the decree in question, its purport, and probable results, than was 
compatible Avith the limits ©f an official note. In the meanwhile, however, the 
decree was duly and formally published and printed in the daily newspapers, 
and this will account for his excellency the British minister having seen it before 
he received either an explanatory communication or visit from the undersigned. 

Sir Charles Wyke will now allow the undersigned the liberty of stating that 
he does not consider his excellency has formed a correct estimate of this decree, 
when he says the congress therein makes a free gift to the government of other 
people's property. Her Majesty's worthy representative likewise goes on to 
qualify the act of congress as a total suspension of payments for the space of 
two years ; still it will not escape his keen judgment that the application of the 
term " free gift" to what is merely the act of ratifying certain obligations, and 
specifying the mode of fulfilling the same, amounts to a misnomer. 

Neither can the undersigned agree with Sir Charles Wyke in his opuiion that 



282 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

tlie decree in question is a violation of Mexico's most sacred obligations towards 
other nations. Snch a phrase would imply the idea of a voluntary and delib- 
erate act ; whereas the republic, in suspending the payments due to the diplomatic 
conventions, yielded not to the dictates of its own free will, but solely to the 
force of circumstances, which have rendered it morally and physically impossible 
for the nation to continue making those payments which have hitherto been 
made by means of the most strenuous exertions. When, then, such efforts have 
been unavailing, the government may be permitted to say so Avithout any Avant 
of respect either for itself or for those nations with Avhom they may have en- 
gagements. 

To every obligation there is attached the tacit condition of possible fulfilment 
or non-fulfilment, and nobody has ever been judged faithless to his engagements 
for having, Avhen compelled to suspend payment, stated the simple fact of such 
engagements being incompatible with possibility. 

Of such a nature is the statement contained in the decree that has now passed 
congress, and her Majesty's minister should not be astonished that it did so pass 
congress, or that it was afterwards published without the previous consent of 
the diplomatic representatives in their character of protectors to foreign creditors, 
for it must be treated of as the mere declaration of a simple fact, in no way 
tending to the modification or prejudice of the interests connected with the 
public debt. 

It will not have escaped the clear judgment of Sir Charles Wyke, acquainted 
as is his excellency with the actual situation of the republic, that the suspension 
of payments which has lately been decreed, which only expresses what has long 
been the public feeling, and has formed the subject of confidential conversations 
with some members of the corps diplomatique, as well also as with some of those 
most interested in the foreign debt, has been brought about by an imperious 
necessity, which did not admit of any preliminary arrangement or adjustment. 
The government had to choose between two evils — either tq respond to public 
opinion by adopting the only existing means of preserving order and reorgan- 
izing the whole administrative system, or to look quietly on and leave society to 
become an easy prey to the prevailing anarchy. 

Government, considering the preservation of order to be its first duty, and 
believing that for the positive good of all who had interests at stake in the 
country some one plan should be undertaken which would tend to consolidate 
those same interests, presumed they might count, to a certain extent, upon the 
assent of the creditors. 

Sir Charles Wyke, then, will thus understand why the imdersigned, holding 
as he does these opinions, can neither look upon the decree originating this note 
as repudiating national engagements, nor as prejudicial to the good fame and 
credit of the republic. 

In order the better to understand the true force and purport of the decree, 
the undersigned would beg to refer her Majesty's minister to the note which has 
been addressed to the legation for the purpose of announcing to his excellency 
the act of congress ; and if Sir Charles Wyke considers that in the visit which 
the undersigned had the honor of paying yesterday at the mission he was only 
performing such an act of courtesy as should always precede any official or con- 
fidential conferences upon matters of business, his excellency will cease to 
wonder at the absence of special reference to the subject of this communication 
during the conversation Avhich then took place.. 
The undersigned, &c. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 283 

Enclosure 4 ia No, IS. 

Senor Zamacona to Sir C. Wyke. 

[Translation.] 

Mexico, Juhj 21, 1861. 

Tbe undersigned, &;c., has the honor to inform his excellency Sir C. Lennox 
Wyke, &c., that the decree which forms the enclosure to this note has passed 
the federal congress of the republic, and that the undersigned brings it to the 
cognizance of his excellency on account of 'its connexion Avith the diplomatic 
conventions and their payments. 

From the known ability and sound sense of her Bidtannic Majesty's minister, 
the Mexican government are led to hope that his excellency, so far from seeing 
in the above decree any cause for alarm on account of those interests which are 
under the protection of the British legation, will, on the contrary, perceive in 
this act of the legislature a proof that the republic is anxious to arrive at an 
estimate of their resources ; to organize those resources in the most profitable 
manner ; to cut at the root of such abuses as have hitherto brought censure 
upon the government, the supreme power being the first to submit to the restric- 
tions and other conditions necessary for this object ; and, at the same time, to 
place the engagements and obligations of the nation upon such a footing as will 
insure them in future a sure and lasting inviolability. 

To fulfil faithfully their international compacts, the Mexican government have 
made almost superhuman efforts, and can show results of no ordinary kind ;, 
such, for instance, as the present balance-sheet of the Mexican debt, whereby 
it is seen that no very notable change has been brought about therein by the 
continuous state of revolution. During this crisis, on the contrary, the position 
of foreign creditors has improved. In the midst of its greatest embarrassments 
the nation has gone even so far as to increase the rate of interest for paying off 
the public debt, and has thus deprived itself of the very means which Avere at 
its disposal for terminating the civil war ; in other words, the nation has paid its 
creditors their gold with the blood of its citizens. 

Since the revolution began the republic has been thirsting after peace, order^ 
and security ; yet the government, fully convinced though they were of being 
able to right themselves if only they could count upon any means that would 
really admit of action, hesitated long before laying hands upon the funds des- 
tined for the payment of their foreign debt. So great, indeed, was their respect 
for these funds that they preferred to sacrifice their obligations to Mexicans, to 
trample under foot the most cherished principles of their country, nay, even to 
imprison persons of the highest respectability, in order to obtain resources from 
the sums paid for their release, rather than touch a cent of the assignments des- 
tined for the diplomatic conventions and the London debt. 

So hateful an expedient, although it has served to prove their good faith to- 
wards other nations, has not been and never can be efficacious ; so that the gov- 
ernment has now to start afresh, as they should do, upon different principles, 
and with the fixed purpose of thoroughly reorganizing their plan of administra- 
tion, and of having recourse, not to temporary expedients, but such a system of 
taxation as from its nature will, while adding fresh vigor to government, abolish 
once and for all the old system of forced imposts. 

To carry out this principle the republic has need of its entire revenue and of 
conscientious and practical persons to administer the same ; and this is the inten- 
tion of the law which the undersigned has the honor of placing in Sir Charles 
Wyke's hands. 

The present government of the republic has to meet, on the one hand, the 
demands of society and civilization for order, aod guarantees, on the other, those 



284 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

of the foreign creditors for nearly the entirety of the puhlic revenue. So cir- 
cumstanced, no government could hesitate as to the course to be taken. 

The nation, then, has yielded to the cry of society and ckilization, has given 
way before a pressure too heavy for it to bear, but it has done so merely in order 
to recover strength and then return to the charge. 

The government of the undersigned originated the measures contained in the 
enclosed decree ; and possibly they are the first rulers in the country who have 
religiously and honestly undertaken seriously to consider the nature of their 
obligations, and to discover the best means of meeting them. 

It is impossible for Mexico to attempt any administrative reform, or the re- 
■establishment of peace and order, if she has to support the burdan of the national 
debt. 

To enable her, however, to remove whatever has led to those numerous ques- 
tions which have so incessantly occupied the attention of foreign representatives 
and the finance department, and to do away with the system of forced imports — 
to enable her to free herself from the necessity of breaking through her own 
liberal principles and overtaxing foreign imports — to enable her, in short, to pro- 
cure some portion of the money now paid by the maritime custom-houses to- 
wards the extinction of the debt — .it is necessary she should be allowed a short 
respite wherein to recover herself, as well as the full use for a few days of her 
entire revenue. In that case, by proper management and economy, public order 
and tranquillity would be re-established, and the revenue of the country, with 
the exception of what was absolutely 'requisite for the proper protection of 
society, set apart to meet the payment of arrears. 

The government of the undersigned considers that a debtor, so long as he is 
actuated by honorable feelings and a full determination to carry out his engage- 
ments, does not forfeit his dignity in presenting himself to his creditor and 
frankly confessing he is, though temporarily so, unable to pay his debts ; and 
the sole object which that government now has in view is to prove to the world 
that they are really and truly resolved upon attempting administrative reforms 
in the country, as the only means left likely to produce any amelioration in its 
political condition. They perfectly understand that they have to struggle against 
the unfavorable impression caused by the abuses and irregularities allowed in 
former times ; yet it does not escape them that they have inherited this fresh 
difiiculty in addition to the others which they have now to combat, though they 
are not ashamed of such difficulties, inasmuch as this is no exceptional case in 
the annals of Mexican revolutions, nor is it the work of the present adminis- 
tration. 

A nation, like an individual, has the right to ask to be judged by its own acts, 
and not according to preconceived prejudices or partial comparisons. 

When the president of the republic convened the members of the present 
government they each and all, with heartfelt sincerity and honesty of purpose, 
hailed the idea of at once fearlessly grappling Avith the difficulties of the problem 
upon the solution of which depended the great question of reform. They saw 
that the nation lacked not the material elements of such a work, but merely their 
proper organization. Nor were moral elements wanting ; for were there not 
proofs to the contrary in the general longing for the time when, upon the spu- 
rious and self-interested promises of a frivolous and corrupt minority, there 
should be built up lasting institutions, under whose protecting influence Mexi- 
cans and foreigners alike would deem their honor, lives, and property secure 1 
The government saw that the nation was weary of its state of anarchy ; that 
it cursed the abuses and the recklessness which had brought upon it discredit 
and ruin. They saw, in fact, that the majoiity in the country asked but hon- 
esty of purpose from the ruling power, and they did not hesitate to consecrate 
their effijrts exclusively to respond to so just a call. 

The cabinet, of which the undersigned is a member, takes pride in its firmness 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 285 

of purpose, and considers that it merits the sympathy and co-operation of foreign 
representatives, whose presence in the republic is not solely for the protection 
of specified interests or nationalities, since their mission is equally one dedicated 
to the cause of humanity and civilization. 

Sad, indeed, would it be if history had one day to recount how that this country^ 
after the most trying vicissitudes, came to be ruled over by men who, without 
any supernatural gifts, and animated solely by their patriotism and their expe- 
rience, shrunk not from making one final effort — an effort such as nevter yet had 
been made — to establish in Mexico the rule of reason and morality, yet that 
this effort Avas shipwrecked on the prejudices and scepticism of the most enlight- 
ened nations of the world in respect to Mexico's future and Mexico's capabilities 
for reform. 

Every impartial person must look upon what is now passing as a proof of the 
energy and loyalty which Mexico is displaying in her endeavors to attain that 
position which reason and prudence dictates. Government, at the outset, has 
procured and dedicated to the interests of the public debt all the national pro- 
perty. They have initiated a system of economy which is already in operation : 
and as a result thereof, have imposed upon themselves and their subordinates 
such restrictions and self-denial as have never yet been imposed by any former 
administration. They have further been occujoied with the details of a pro- 
gramme based upon those principles of economy which experience has proved 
to be necessary. Great progi'ess, too, has been made towards establishing public 
order and tranquillity by the steps taken by government for tracing out clearly 
the position which the States hold in respect to the supreme federal power. 
Moreover, the Departments of State now are denied to those who would hold 
office simply to speculate in the gains of the reigning disorder and confusion, 
and the present rulers of Mexico would sooner sink under their difficulties than 
yield an inch of the ground on which they have taken their stand in defence of 
reform and morality. 

All those who have interests in the country, all indeed who would see civili- 
zation on the increase, should aid the government in attaining the objects they 
have in view, instead of throwing obstacles in their way. The great European 
powers are extending their sympathies at the present hour to those countries 
who are striving to join the rest of mankind in the great work of civilization,, 
and Mexico would fain hope that she is not alone to be excepted. 

The very creditors of Mexico themselves should, the undersigned thinks, in 
their own interests, feel that great encouragement is given to them at the present 
moment ; for it is not the republic alone that is now concerned in the proper 
regulation of the public debt under surer guarantees, and in the necessity of 
consolidating the same. The creditors of the nation have even a higher interest 
at stake, inasmuch as by no other means than those already mentioned can they 
expect to obtain greater advantages than those they now possess, notwithstand- 
ing that they have gi'adiially acquired for themselves almost the entire revenue 
of the country. 

This very circumstance is regarded, and with reason, as a proof of non- 
stability, while it equally produces distrust in people's minds, a state of things 
no less prejudicial to the republic generally than to its creditors. 

Upon this point natural instinct cannot be deceived. As matters now stand, 
whether in respect to the country or the creditors, it might be possible that the 
drain upon the. revenue could be continued for the space of a few months, but it 
would be possible only at the price of certain ruin, alike to the country and the 
creditors. 

Had the government hesitated to adopt the measures for a radical financial 
reform, to which sufficient reference has already been made, they would have 
been either compelled, against their principles and inclination, to impose fresh 
taxes upon foreign importations, or quietly to submit to every interest connected 



286 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

,witli social order being swallowed up in the flood of anarchy — an idea too 
horrible to be thought of. 

To avoid either of these extremes the government, guided by their conscience 
and feelings of patriotism, suggested the plan contained in the enclosed decree. 
If, as it is to be ho^Ded, it sliould meet with support and sympathy from other 
nations, Mexico would be able to raise her voice and proclaim aloud that she 
had entered upon the one road that could lead to her salvation. Should it be 
otherwise, the nation must perish, and with her all those interests which are so 
closely connected with her future prosperity. Be this as it may, the govern- 
ment that in these stormy days rules over the destiny of Mexico, M'ill have had 
the honor and glory of initiating and doing battle for the only means left that 
could save their country. 

The undersigned would feel obliged to her Majesty's envoy extraordinary if 
liis excellency would transmit a copy of this note to his government, and avail 
himself, &c. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA. 



Enclosure 5 in No. 18. 
Sir C. JVyke to Senor Zamacona. 

Mexico, July 22, 1851. 

Sir : In reply to your communication bearing yesterday's date, which I have 
just had the honor to receive, I will endeavor to answer seriatim the objections 
you have to offer to the statements contained in my note to your excellency of 
the 19th instant. 

You state the reasons why the financial decree was not sooner communicated 
to this legation, and say tjiat you were anxious personally to explain to me the 
motives which had originated it ; but what I complained of was, that it should 
have passed into a law without the intention even of carrying it into execution 
ever having been announced to me. 

When two parties bind themselves to perform certain stipulations, neither of 
them has the right to free himself from such obligations without having first of 
all obtained the consent of the other contracting party. With regard to what 
you say about the impropriety of my calling this act of the congress a giving 
away of other peoples property without their consent, permit me to observe that 
I am perfectly justified in making that assertion, for in matters of this nature 
time is often equivalent to money, and the arbitrary act of stopping all payments 
for the space of two years is depriving the parties interested of their money for 
that space of time, which is a dead loss of so much value to them. 

The imperious necessity which you urge as an excuse for the act cannot in 
any way justify the manner in which you have made yourselves sole judges of 
that necessity, without first of all urging it on the forbearance of your creditors, 
in order to obtain their consent to what you wei'e about to do.. 

A starving man may justify, in his own eyes, the fact of his stealing a loaf 
on the ground that imperious necessity impelled him thereto ; but such an argu- 
ment cannot, in a moral point of view, justify his violation of the law, which 
remains as positive, apart from all sentimentality, as if the crime had not had an 
excuse. If he was actually starving, he should have first asked the baker to 
assuage his hunger, but doing so of his own free will, without permission, is 
acting exactly as the Mexican government has done towards its creditors on the 
present occasion. 

Although, as your excellency truly observes, the law just published does not 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 287 

certainly affect the riglit.s of the parties interested, yet it does most positively 
touch their material interests by depriving them of payments on which they had 
counted to fulfil their other engagements. 

With regard to the hope of immediate relief which you seem to entertain 
from the operation of this measure, I am convinced that it will, on the contrary, 
greatly aggravate the actual difficulties under which you are now laboring, and 
that for reasons so evident that I will not now advance them. 

I am not aware that the project of this law was shown to other diplomatic 
agents, but I certainly never heard of it before under its present form, and 
therefore, as far as I am concerned, the case stands exactly as I have stated it. 

With regard to the light in which your excellency views this question, as ex- 
pressed in your above-named note, you will, I am sure, excuse me for stating 
that it cannot be treated of partially, without also taking into consideration the 
opinions of those who directly suffer from the practical operation of siich ideas 
as emanating from yourself and^ the other members of the government who 
submitted the project to the congress. 

With respect to what you mention about a note addressed by your excellency 
to this legation with reference to this matter, I must inform you that it has never 
reached me, and that, therefore, I had a full right to complain, as I did in my 
communication to you of the 19 th, of having first of all heard of this extraor- 
dinary measure of the government by seeing it in printed bills placarded through 
the public streets of the capital. 
I have, &c. 

■ C. LENNOX WYKE. 

P. S. — Since writing the foregoing lines, the note of your excellency alluded 
to above as missing, has been put into my hands, it having reached this legation 
an hour and a half later than the one to which this is a reply. 

C. L. W. 



Enclosure 6 iu No. 18. 



Sir C. Wyke to Sehor Zamaccyna. 

Mexico, July 23, 1861. 

Sir: Your excellency's note of the 21st instant reached me yesterday after- 
noon, by which I learn that the decree forming its enclosure has passed the 
federal congress of the republic, and that you forward it to me as directly bearing 
on the stipulations of the diplomatic convention for the payment of British 
claims concluded between Great Britain and Mexico in the year 1S51. 

I have already so fully explained to you, in my notes of the 19th and 22d of 
this month, what I think of this decree, and the maimer in which it has been 
issued, that any further observations of mine with reference to it would only be 
superfluous, and prolong a correspondence which should never have been called 
for at all. 

As to the appeal you make to the indulgence and forbearance of her Majesty's 
government, in order to obtain their sanction to a measure which is of itself 
sufficient forever to deprive you of their confidence, I need only remind you 
that such indulgence has already been too far abused by the utter failure of all 
your engagements in the affairs of the Calle de Capuchin;is and Laguna Seca 
for it to be again extended to those who, instead of feeling grateful for it, only 
seem to count on its exercise in order to free themselves from every obligation, 
however binding it may be. 

Apart from theae cousideratious, however, the carrying out of this financial 



288 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

law, so far from benefiting tlie nation, will only plunge it into tenfold greater 
difficulties by largely increasing its obligations to its creditors, and at tlie same 
time striking at tlie root of its credit and commercial prosperity. 

That Avliicli is in itself wrong can never come right, for it is a well knoA^ii 
axiom that spoliation, as a source of revenue, soon exhausts itself. 

It is not by such means that the resources of the country can be augmented,, 
but by a determination to make every sacrifice, and incur every privation, with 
a view of maintaining your honor and fulfilling your engagements. This deter- 
mination, once adopted and manfully put in practice, would at once inspire con- 
fidence and rally round you those whose sympathies you now appeal to in vain, 
because they doubt, from past experience, both your prudence and your smcerity. 

In using language thus strong you must not attribute to me a desire to offend^ 
which is, indeed, far from my intention, but I have a duty to perform both to 
my own government and to that to which I am accredited, which impels me 
fearlessly to tell the truth and warn you against the mevitable consequences of 
a step alike fatal to your own interests, as well as to those of my countrymen 
affected by that law. 

It now only remains for me to protest most solemnly, as I hereby do, against 
this decree, at the same time that I hold the republic responsible for all and 
every damage and prejudice caused by it to the interests of those whom I repre- 
sent in this matter; and further to warn your excellency that, unless the said 
decree is withdrawn within forty-eight hours from this present time, I shall, until 
I receive fresh instructions, suspend all official intercourse with the Mexican 
government, as any longer maintaining such under existing circumstances would 
be incompatible with the dignity of the nation I have the honor to represent. 

In compliance with your request, I will transmit a copy of your excellency's 
note of the 21st instant to hei Majesty's government. 
I avail, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 7 in No. 18. 
Sir C. Wylce to Se/ior Zamacona. 

Mexico, July 25, 1861, 5 jj.m. 

Sir; The day before yesterday, at this hour, I had the honor of informing 
your excellency that, if the decree of the 17th instant was not withdrawn within 
forty-eight hours I should feel it my duty to suspend all official intercoui'se with 
the Mexican government until I should receive instructions from her Britannic 
Majesty's government as to the next step to be taken in the matter, which not 
only implies the breach of a solemn international compact, but also carries with 
it so great a slight as almost to amoLtnt to a direct insult to the nation I have 
the honor to represent. 

The term having now expired within which I should have received a reply, 
and none having reached me, I take your silence as a refusal of my demand ; 
and I therefore, from this time forward, suspend all official relations with the 
government of this republic until that of her Majesty shall adopt such measures 
as they shall deem necessary under circumstances so unprecedented. 
I have, &c., 

0. LENNOX WYKE. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 289 

Enclosure 8 in No. 18. 

Semr Zamacona to Sir C. WyJce. 

[Translation.] 

Mexico, July 25, 1861. 

Tlie commtmication whicli Ms excellency her Britannic Majesty's minister was 
pleased, under yesterday's date, to address to tlie undersigned upon the subject 
of the decree of the sovereign congress proclaiming a total suspension of pay- 
ments, not excepting those of the diplomatic conventions and the London debt, 
has rendered it incumbent upon the undersigned to make certain explanations, 
without which it might be supposed that his government had accepted as hre- 
futable some of the facts and statements therein adduced by Sir Charles Wyke. 

Once for all, then, the undersigned rejects the notion entertained by his excel- 
lency m his notes of the 19th and 22d instants, that the decree of the 17th 
implies an act of spoliation. 

This act of the legislature carries with it no legal right whatever to rob for- 
eign creditors of what belongs to them. The nation, in whose house of repre- 
sentatives the decree in question was carried with scarcely a dissenting voice, 
has never sought to disavow the rights- which have accrued to others from inter- 
national compacts. Still she has been forced to declare that, for some time to 
come, such rights cannot continue to be a drain upon the revenue of the mari- 
time custom-house, for that revenue, the only one government possesses for 
immediate pm-poses, does not suflfice for the actual exigencies, temporary though 
they be, of the country and society, and at the same time for the payment of 
the interest and principal of the public debt. Government have obligations to 
perform both towards society and their creditors. They cannot perform both 
at once, and consequently, by the decree which has originated this note, govern- 
ment have done nothing more than place those obligations in their legitimate 
order, without attacking or disavowing any of them. 

His excellency her Majesty's envoy extraordinary, while attempting to clothe 
the act of congress in the garb of spoliation, has in one of his former notes em- 
ployed a simile, the inaptitude of which is strikingly perceptible. His excellency 
compares the government at this moment to a person who, impelled by hunger, 
assaults and robs a provision merchant. Now, two ruling principles are implied 
in such an act, one of aggi-ession, the other of robbery, neither of which can 
even be assumed in respect to the conduct of government towards its 
creditors. Of not a sixpence have these same creditors been deprived; and if 
one had to employ a simile to qualify the conduct of government, it would be 
rather that of a father overwhelmed with debts, who, with only a small sum at his 
disposal, scarcely sufficient to maintain his children, employed it in the purchase 
of bread instead of in the payment of his bills. "Were her Britannic Majesty's 
representative a member of the family, would his excellency be eager to qualify 
his father's conduct by the name of spoliation 1 

In every-day life one is accustomed to see people who suspend payment, owing 
to pecuniary embarrassments, yet nobody seeks to call them thieves. Now. in 
the decree upon which her Britannic Majesty's minister passes so severe a sen- 
tence, not a single word is there which can give rise to the idea of thieving pro- 
pensities. Payments, it is true, are stopped, because government cannot pay 
out of the funds assigned to it. They are stopped because the nation, to be 
orderly and at the same time methodical in the accounts of the public debt, 
wants, as soon as possible, a government; yet still, with feelings of loyalty and 
with a solicitude worthy both of being more justly appreciated, she has given her 
creditors a two-fold guarantee — firstly, in the plan itself, so complete, so impar- 
tial, a plan wherein looms a prospect of solid stability; and, secondly, in the 

H. Ex. Doc. 100—19 



290 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

assignment of a special fund of several millions, (most of wHcli can shortly be 
realized,) whereby, even during the period of suspension, (in their case nominal,) 
the foreign creditors will obtain even better security than what was given them 
in the maritime custom-houses. 

It is not, M. le Ministre, about sacrifices or money that Mexico is haggling ; 
that which she is defending are the principles of order; that which she is 
longing for is system and organization, without which she is lost ; and she is 
searching after prudence and method, so that she ipay never again be accused of 
slovenliness and mismanagement by those who regard as a national vice what is 
but a phenomenon inseparable from a state of revolution. 

It is well, too, to state accurately the attitude of Mexico before her creditors, 
both as it was and is; for it is not such a one as his excellency her Majesty's 
envoy describes in his last note. To judge therefrom, our republic has never 
been aught than an indigent debtor, who, from time immemorial, has responded 
with ingratitude and bad faith to the undeniable generosity and indulgence of 
her creditors. 

The undersigned shuts his eyes purposely to the history of the foreign debt, 
for neither would he wish to employ the bitter tone of Sir Charles Wyke's note, 
nor give the slightest indication of Mexico's belonging to the set of faithless 
debtors who, to avoid payment, dispute the legality of their obligations. Mfcico, 
on the contrary, recognizes in a high degree her engagements, and will abide by 
them, moreover, without taking exception at the antecedents of the original 
contract. 

But the imdersigned is convinced that, when this correspondence shall have 
come to light, all who are familiar with the history of our external debt, all who 
are acquainted with the primary elements of the British convention, and know 
how the parties interested therein were allowed the advantages of increased 
interest in the midst of a ruinous civil war, and in the days of Mexico's hardest 
struggle, will see something strange in the allusion of his excellency her Majesty's 
minister to the indulgence of which the foreign creditors were so prodigal, but 
which the republic so systematically abused. 

Had the demands of the creditors been somewhat fewer, then, perhaps, the 
fulfilment of international engagements might have come within the range of 
possibility. Mexico, however, has been like those fields where the harvests 
have been out of proportion to the fertility of the soil, and the day comes when 
the land becomes impoverished, yields nothing, and is obliged to lie fallow for 
one or two years. 

The undersigned considers he should not pass over in silence the charge 
which is made against his government of having failed to fulfil their engagements 
in respect to the funds seized at the British legation by functionaries of the re- 
action, and to the money-convoy "occupied" at Laguna Seca. 

In the first case, government, with the consent of the legation, engaged simply 
to make the perpetrators of the act responsible, and if such means did not lead 
to the desired result, viz, indemnity, to discuss others which might do so. No 
one, then, can say that until now government has not fulfilled their engagement 
in this case. 

As for the afPair of Laguna) Seca, when government undertook to repay, 
within the space of four months, what remained unpaid of the amount " occupied " 
out of the "conducta," they did so at a time when they could not foresee that 
the remnant of the reaction would turn refractory, and oblige them to enter upon 
an expensive campaign, which would upset all then- financial calculations. 

Notwithstanding this, however, they have made every kind of sacrifice, 
monetary and otherwise, to keep intact this special debt — to an extent, indeed, 
that has left them in possession of but a small available surplus. No one who 
does justice to the Mexican nation can refuse to acknowledge the exemplary 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 291 

mauner iu which she has endeavored to satisfy; her creditors, to the unstable 
disparagement of national interests. 

The actual amount assigned for the payment of the foreign debt during the 
residence of the constitutional government at Vera Cruz, and that, too, at a time 
when the re-establishment of peace was being laboriouslj worked out, and when, 
conseq^uently, the country could ill-sustain the heavy demands made upon it, 
sj)eaks volumes in itself. 

The little faith manifested by his excellency Sir Charles Wyke as to the 
results of the financial law, and the small value he puts upon the guarantees it 
g-ives to foreign creditors, do not seem to be shared in by the parties themselves 
who are interested in the. diplomatic conventions, since it is only within the last 
few days that government had all but concluded an arrangement with them, the 
basis of which would not have interfered with their present rate of interest, but 
it could not be perfected o^viug to her Majesty's envoy extraordinary having 
refused to sanction it. 

The same may be said of the creditors in the matter of the Laguna Seca 
"conducta." Guided by natural instinct — so infallible a rule where individual 
interests are concerned — they did not, like Sir Charles Wyke, entertain any 
doubts about the prudence and sincerity of the government. And touching these 
saididoubts, amounting, as they do, fo an insult, his excellency will permit the 
undersigned to exhort him to commune with his conscience, and ask it whether 
or not the tone of his excellency's last communication is such as should be used 
by a creditor, calling himself generous and indulgent, towards a friend who is ■ 
in his debt and overwhelmed by difficulties. 

It cannot escape the enlightened understanding of his excellency the repre- 
sentative of Great Britain that, in demanding from the government of the under- 
signed the withdrawal, within forty -eight hours, of the late decree, he simply 
demands an impossibility. Neither could the government initiate the withdi-awal, 
for it would be eG[uivalent to initiating the reign of anarchy and a general disso-- 
lution of society; nor could congress, who had carried this law almost by 
acclamation, and who were con^dnced of its vital importance to the republic, 
listen for a moment to such a proposition. 

The protest with which his excellency her Majesty's envoy extraordinary 
concludes his note appears to the undersigned so much the more superfluous, as 
iu his very first note upon this subject the undersigned had, so to speak, also 
protested, but against the supposition that the last act of congress in any waj 
affected the lawful rights of the persons interested in the public debt. 

The undersigned will foi'ther take the liberty of stating, with all due deference 
and respect to Sir Charles Wyke's sound judgment, that, very far from seeing 
in the suspension of relations, now announced by his excellency as representative 
of Great Britain, an act due to the honor and dignity of England, he thinks it 
not improbable that all nations who consider the matter impartially will look- 
upon this step as absolutely uncalled for ; and he therefore trusts that his exp- 
ediency, while awaiting the instructions to which he alludes, will continue his 
friendly relations to this government, for the intenaiption of which there can be 
no possible cause, while their maintainance will surely contribute to the satis- 
factory solution of the present difficulty. 
The undersigned, &c. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA. 



292 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Enclosure 9 in No. 18. 

Senor Zomacona to Sir C. Wyhe. 
[Translation.] 

Mexico, July 25, 1861. 

Tlie undersigned, &c., lias this moment had the honor of receiving from his 
excellency Sir 0. Lennox Wyke, &c., the note in which his excellency is pleased 
to announce the suspension of his relations with the government of Mexico. 

Sir Charles Wyke must have received the communication which the under- 
signed had the honor of addressing at 5 o'clock this afternoon; this will prove 
the utter absence of any motive for a suspension of relations between the gov- 
ernment of Great Britain and that of the Mexican republic. 

Neither can there be any cause for the resolution taken by Sir Charles Wyke, 
in the expiration of the forty-eight hours fixed by his excellency in his note of 
the 23d instant, (as the term to be allowed to government for answering the 
ultimatum,) inasmuch as it was only 7 o'clock in the evening of the 23d that 
the above note was received at government house. 

The undersigned, in calling attention to "his last communication, avails, &c. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA. 



Enclosure 10 in No.*l8. 
Sir C. Wyke to Senor Zamacona. 

[Private.] 

Mexico, July 26, 1861. 

Dear Sir : At 7 o'clock yesterday evening, that is, two hours after the 
expiration of the forty-eight hours in which I had required a reply to my note 
of the 23d instant, I received yours dated the 25th, to which, consequently, I 
can only reply by a private letter, as its contents have in no way changed the 
resolution which both the French minister and myself have been driven to adopt 
by the extraordinary and unjustifiable conduct of the Mexican government with 
reference to the decree of the 17th instant. 

A careful perusal of your above-mentioned note has convinced me that mine 
of the 23d, to which it is a reply, has not been properly translated to you, as 
you put some things into my mouth which I never said, and so twist the sense 
of others as to give them a totally different meaning from what they really 
convey. 

Passing by this, however, I will only revert to the really essential part of 
your note, which is the refusal to rescind a financial scheme, the maintenance 
of which, besides plunging the republic into fvirther pecuniary difficulties, will 
have the effect of bringing it into collision with the two first maritime powers of 
the world, and that, too, in a qiiarrel which you have originated, and where, 
permit me to say, you are quite in the wrong. 

As I am in thus writing to you unfettered by the reserve imposed in an official 
correspondence, I may tell you frankly that you are leaning on a broken reed 
when you trust to the sympathy of those whose interests Mexico has systemati- 
cally sacrificed to her own. This is proved by the history of the foreign debt 
as applicable to the bondholders, which it would be well that you should care- 
fully study, and you will then see that the repeated engagements made, with 
them have, up to the present moment, always been either entirely evaded or 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 293 

only partially executed, as, for instance, when, after consenting to a reduction of 
interest of from five per cent, to three per cent, on the condition of receiving 
certain payments from the duties levied in the Pacific ports, they do not receive 
one sixpence from that source, and are only very partially paid from the Atlantic 
custom-houses. 

I will not dwell on the long and dreadful list of murders committed on my 
imfortunate countrymen, which, with one exception, I believe, have remained 
unpunished from the date of your independence down to the recent dreadful 
butchery of poor Mr. Beale at Napolis. 

Do you think that these lamentable facts are calculated to gain our sympathy 
or inspire us with confidence in a people who thus violate their engagements 
with us, and kill our fellow-subjects with perfect impunity 1 

It is really time that the government of Mexico should open their eyes to the 
natural consequences produced by such conduct, and should become aware of 
the unfavorable opinion entertained of them in Europe. 

Whose fault is it that the country has been deluged in blood ever since the 
declaration of its independence but that of its own citizens, in constantly making 
revolutions and carrying on a series of fratricidal wars amongst themselves, 
which have reduced one of the finest countries in the world to misery, and so 
degraded its popiilation as to make them dangerous, not only to themselves, but 
to everybody coming into contact with them ? 

You appeal to the generous sentiments of creditors towards an unfortunate 
debtor bowed down by his difficulties, forgetting that that debtor, with only 
common prudence within the last six months, might, at this moment, be actually 
free from debt, had he not wilfully and recklessly squandered the millions he 
then had at his disposal. 

As to the mode of payment proposed to certain British claimants, to which 
you allude in your yesterday's note, it was so impracticable as to be unacceptable 
to all of them when its real nature was pointed out to them. 

With regard to what you say about the Laguna Seca robbery and the lega- 
tion outrage, it is useless for the Mexican government to deceive itself by calling 
the former an " occupation of funds," and the latter a deed performed by the 
" functionaries of the reaction." The first was a theft and the second an un- 
heard-of violation of international law, committed by a government recognized 
by every European nation, and for both these crimes, as yet unatoned for, Great 
Britain will surely hold this republic fully responsible. 

I have already extended this letter to an undue length, and must therefore 
conclude, but before doing so let me again urge you, for your own sakes, to 
retrieve the fatal error you have made with regard to this decree by immedi- 
ately withdrawing it, for other-wise all official intercourse between this legation 
and your government becomes impossible, and you will remain with the respon- 
sibility attaching to an act which, both in form and substance, is perfectly un- 
justifiable. 

Trusting that you will receive what I have now written in the spirit which 
really dictated these lines, I will take leave of a subject which is a much more 
serious one than seems to be supj)osed by the Mexican government. 

In a second note of yours received yesterday, you complained that my note, 
"s^T^itten at 5 o'clock on the 23d, only reached you at 7 o'clock on that day, and 
that consequently, in writing to you yesterday at 5 o'clock, you had had only 
forty-six, instead of forty-eight hours' delay before the suspension of official 
relations. This I regret, but it was not my fault, as on both days I despatched 
my note from here at half-past five in the afternoon. In point of fact, however, 
the two hours thus lost are of no importance, as you refuse to Avithdraw the ob- 
noxious decree. 

Believe me, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



294 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Enclosure 11 in No. 18. 
Messrs. Graliam, Geaves S^^ Co., and others, to Sir C. Wyke. 

Mexico, July 23, 1861. 

Sir : We, the undersigned, British merchants, beg leave most respectfully to 
solicit yonr excellency's powerful assistance under the following circumstances : 

By article 13 of the government decree of July 17, which has been recently 
published, (copy of which we enclose,) the duty styled " contra-registro " is in- 
creased from 20 to 40 per cent, on the amount of import duty. 

This double " contra-registro " duty is recoverable immediately, and therefore 
even goods which were forwarded last month (and but for the unprecedented bad 
state of the roads would have arrived before the decree in question was issued) 
are also subject to the increase referred to, and which is the more unjust and 
severe as goods have been sold to arrive under the existing tariff, and conse- 
quently a dead loss is at once sustained. 

It is to be observed, also, that, as this additional duty is recoverable in the 
federal district, or in the capital of the republic only, all the other States are 
exempt from the charge, and consequently offering a further inducement to the , 
illegitimate trader through the northern frontier, to the extra detriment, not to 
say ruin, of the Vera Cruz merchant. 

We would further beg leave to point out, for the consideration of your excel- 
lency, that the measure now adopted by government is in every way analogous 
to the one of the year 1839, when the duty then called " consume " duty Avas 
increased from 16f to 50 per cent., but which, through the influence of her Ma- 
jesty's legation, was abolished ; and we believe to be correct in stating that a 
diplomatic convention was made at the time between Sir Richard Pakenham and 
the Mexican government, to the effect that no increase of duties affecting British 
commerce could from that time forward be enforced, except with a prior notice 
of six months, a record of which, if we may be allowed to remark, will probably 
be found in the archives of her Majesty's legation for the years 1840-'41, and 
there exists an acknowledged, though imsettled claim, at the present day, for 
that increase of duty, which had been exacted on British goods during the first 
six months. 

We have, &c., 

GRAHAM, GEAVES & CO., 

And others. 



Enclosure 12 in No. 18. 
Sir C. Wyke to Messrs. Graham, Geaves Sf Co., and others. 

Mexico, July 24, 1861. 

Gentlemen : I have to acknowledge receipt of your .letter bearing yester- 
day's date, by which you request my assistance to prevent the execution of 
article 13 of the decree of the 17tli instant, by which a double "contra-registro" 
duty is not only levied on goods imported into the federal district, but is also 
claimed from the date of the decree. 

I fully concur in the justice of your observations on the subject, for the tax 
is not only injurious to the legitimate comiherce of the country, but is also, in 
my opinion, a shameful robbery of those merchants who have sold their goods 
" to arrive." I should not, therefore, have hesitated in protesting against the 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 295 

immediate application of the double " contra-registro " duty, but, as you are 
probably aware, tlie decree in question contains infractions of international en 
gagements of a most serious character ; and I have therefore, on these grounds, 
Avhilst protesting against the decree, declared to the Mexican government that if 
it is not withdrawn within forty-eight hours I shall suspend all official intercourse 
with them until I receive further instructions with reference to this matter from 
her Majesty's government. 
I am, &c., 

0. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 13 in No. 18. 

Senor Zamacona to Sir C. Wyke. 

[Ti'anslation.] 

Mexico, My 27, 1861. 

My Dear Sir : I have had the honor of receiving your letter of yesterday, 
and I am glad that it gives me the opportunity of asking you to listen once 
more to the voice of one who is as sincere as he is honorable ; of one whose love 
for his country is only excelled by his love of justice and reason ; of one who 
is confident that you will be brought to do justice to the intentions of the Mexican 
government, for, as if by inspiration, he knows you to be possessed of similarity 
of sentiment with himself. 

It cannot be that, talented and generous as you are, you have yet thought it 
strange that government should refuse to withdraw the decree of the 17th instant. 
Your conscience must tell you, M. le Ministre, that it is an impossibility you ask 
of government, for how could they entertain your proposition? The mere 
preliminaries for the suspension of a law which had passed congress would take 
up more time than what you have allowed for deciding whether or not our 
official relations were to be maintained. This single fact would account for the 
position taken up by government, as well as for their determination to meet 
boldly dangers and difficulties even greater than those which you have had the 
goodness to warn me against. 

Such a step as the one you now propose if taken by Mexico could not but 
prove suicidal to her political standing as a nation, for it would be ec[uivalent to 
the surrender of her constitution and her sovereignty into the keeping of the 
foreign diplomatic body, and that too in a matter where my inmost conviction 
tells me that justice is on our side. 

Still, as in the correspondence which has passed between us during the last 
few days I had seen the opposite doctrine sustained and heard the conduct of 
my government qualified repeatedly as unjustifiable, I began to distrust my own 
convictions about equity and common sense, so much so that I sought to justify 
myself and my country by a reference to international law ; and I can only say, 
now tliat the work o£ reference is over, that my former convictions are only the 
more confirmed. 

I perceive, M. le Ministre, that writers on international law hold it to be a 
general principle, that any change of circumstances or the positive inability of 
one of the parties in a contract to fulfil the same docs of itself nullify a bond ; 
and since I likewise, in my turn, may be permitted to avail myself of the 
advantages of a private letter, I will take the liberty of doing what might be 
considered in the light of pedantry were I writing to you officially, and make 
certain quotations which bear upon this question. 



296 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Grotius and Oorcellus liold that " tlie oTbligation wliicli results from a compact 
becomes mill and void so soon as its fulfilment becomes impossible." Wlieaton 
t6o bas tbe following passage : " Treaties may be avoided, even subsecjnent to 
ratification, upon tbe ground of tbe impossibility, physical or moral, of fulfilling 
tbeir stipulations. Physical impossibility is where the party making the stipula- 
tion is disabled from fulfilling it for want of the necessary physical means 
depending on himself." In Martens we read, " Physical impossibility in a 
nation to fulfil treaty engagements absolves it from the obligations of the compact, 
but not from the obligations to make indemnity should it be proved that the 
physical impossibility could have been foreseen, or that it was caused by the 
nation itself." And Heffter has the following remarkable sentence : *' The con- 
tracting party may refuse to fulfil his engagements when their fulfilment becomes 
impossible and is likely to remain so, even though the contract be violated, more 
especially if private duties or the rights and well-being of a people are concerned." 

I could go on quoting, but I should exceed the limits of this note were I to 
bring forward the numerous authorities upon this recognized principle of inter- 
national law. 

There is, M. le Ministre, something inexj)licably harsh in denying the right of 
Mexico to the sympathy of her creditors, and in saying that she has systematically 
sacrificed their interests to her own. 

I had already, before receiving your advice, studied the history of the English 
debt, and my research has shown me that from the very date of the London 
loan the republic has been a loser, its actual loss amounting to something like 
$8,000,000 ; that when bonds were issued in the year 1824 she did nothing less 
than make good at par what she could have made good at 50 per cent.; that 
later on she lost several millions in the failure of those British firms who had 
been mixed up in the business, yet that still, notwithstanding the civil war which 
has for years been raging in the country, she has made the bondholders such 
remittances as cannot but have filled their pockets beyond what could have been 
expected, considering the circumstances of the country. But this refers solely 
to the exterior debt, which perhaps has sufiered less than anything else from 
the vicissitudes Mexico has had to undergo, since, at all events, this particular 
debt has been attended to with something like the very care and method which 
the government is desirous of employing in respect to the entire public debt. 

While her Majesty's legation is talking about the history of the exterior debt, 
it would be well if, instead of turning their attention solely to the question of 
the London loan, which has no diplomatic character whatever, they looked into 
the matter of the British convention and stated frankly who really have been 
the sufferers in this business, and who have had to make sacrifices and undergo 
hardships. Let them say whether or not the republic has come off scot-free, 
when in the midst of her difficulties she has gone on punctually paying the 
assignments of the British convention and even increasing the rate of interest , 
on those assignments. 

In one of my last official communications I mentioned to you that feelings of 
delicacy prevented my entering into the details of the convention question. I 
can, however, in a private letter call your attention to the kind of elements 
composing this diplomatic arrangement, and to the consequences resvilting there- 
from ; indeed, it is only a few days ago that an English paper in this capital 
brought the matter to light, and proved nothing less than that Mexico had been 
paying for some tobacco concern at the rate of two ounces for each box of 
cigars. 

As to the complaints which you have made about the robberies and murders 
that of late have been committed in the republic, though they have not solely 
been committed upon the persons of Englishmen, but equally upon Mexicans, 
nobody need have less cause to blush than thoSfe who, like the present govern- 
ment, are giving the most positive proofs of how much they are taken up with 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 297 

this siibject, and of tlieir anxiety to put a stop at any price to sncTi atrocities, 
and who were actually on the point of procuring the means of carrying out their 
intentions Avhen those means Avere protested against by the British legation. 

Who, you ask, is to blame for the present state of aflPairs and for the wars 
which have been desolating the republic ? I will tell you in all frankness, M. 
le Ministre, and you must not be astonished at what I am going to say. 

If, as I suppose, you are well acquainted with what has happened since the 
date of our independence, you will find that the origin of the evil can be traced 
to circumstances over which neither our race in general, nor this generation in 
particular, had any control. It was no work of theirs ; while, as for what has 
taken place within the last few years, foreign diplomatic agents are in a great 
measure responsible for having recognized and given moral support to a handful 
of rebels Avho were utterly repudiated by the nation at large. Such, at all 
events, is public opinion. 

In your last letter you still hold to the general but exaggerated notion, that 
many millions of the late church property have been needlessly squandered 
away. My opinion upon this point, M. le Ministre, may be considered worth 
something, for no journalist has advocated more strenuously than I have done 
the necessity of a proper and organized administration of the property in question ; 
yet I am sure that if the matter were reduced to figures, and the actual value of 
the church property put on paper, with the positive depreciation that value has 
undergone owing to the civil war; and if, moreover, there be taken into con- 
sideration the sums paid from this source towards the extinction of the national 
debt, the discount at which government has been compelled to transact their 
negotiation in order to realize this property and the surplus which still remains, 
I am sure, I repeat, that the charge of having squandered away millions will 
be found exaggerated. 

I cannot understand why you should qualify as impracticable the arrangement 
which the parties interested in the British convention had entered into with 
government. This, or any other analogous one, would be very feasible upon 
the bases laid down in the decree of the 17th for the guidance of the special 
finance committee. This decree has in no way sacrificed the rights of the public 
debt ; and nothing is asked for either by the government, the congress, or the 
country but the permission to attempt the pacification of the country and carry 
out their administrative reform. They claim but this. 

With respect to what you are pleased to say about the conduct of the chiefs 
of the federal army in having "occupied" certain funds at Laguna Seca, I will 
simply ask you whether you conceive the word "robbery" implies the idea of a 
future indemnity, such as was made voluntarily and at a great sacrifice on this 
occasion, as is proved by the trifling sum which still remains unpaid. 

As for the outrage at the British legation, I must correct a slight error you 
have made in referring to this act. It is not true that the authors of this outrage 
at the time of its commission, were recognized by the representatives of friendly 
powers. 

I thank you, in conclusion, most suicerely for the kind language you employ, 
while exhorting me to facilitate the renewal of our relations by the withdrawal 
of the decree of the 17th instant; but it appears to me that the interest^you 
profess in the matter would have lost none of its weight, and would have giined 
in dignity, had you accompanied it, by way of incentive, with some proposition 
for an arrangement not incompatable with the honor of the nation, and less 
uufeasi])le than the essentially impracticable one you have already made us. 

Hoping that you will have the goodness to consider well the observations I 
now offer, and flattering myself that they may lead to the re-establishment of 
our official intercourse, for the interruption of Avhich there is as yet no motive, I 
beg, &c. 

MANUEL DE ZAMACONA. 



298 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 19. 
Sir C. Wyke to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, July 28, 1861. 

M\ Lord : Since this clay last month, when I had the honor of writing to 
your lordship, describing the state of affairs in this unfortunate country, matters 
here have only been going from bad to worse, and every day's experience only 
more clearly proves the imbecility and bad faith of a government now generally 
detested, and against which various conspiracies are on foot. 

Marquez, at the head of about 4,000 men, still ravages the country, burning 
villages and levying contributions, without mercy, on the unfortunate inhabitants 
of whatever district he passes through, whilst the government troops, under the 
command of General Ortega, go running about the country in the hope of catch- 
ing the rebels, who elude their pursuit apparently with the greatest facility. 

On the 28th of last month, Marquez, with a force amounting to nearly 5,000 
men, marched upon Real del Monte, at which place there are some very valua- 
ble mines .belonging to a mixed English anci Mexican company. Having easily 
overcome the government troops stationed near the place, his people rushed 
tumultuously into the village, burst open the doors of the houses, which they 
pillaged without mercy, ill-treating the inhabitants, and breaking the prison gates 
in order to liberate more than ninety of the worst criminals in the republic, Avho 
had been condemned to work in the mines. Fortunately no lives were lost, but 
the surgeon of the company, Dr. Griffin, received a sword-cut through the face, 
and the 160 English miners employed in the works were all more or less ill- 
treated, besides being robbed of their property to the amount, in the aggregate, 
of $3,898, a serious loss to these poor men, some of whom were thus deprived 
of their hard-earned savings to the amount of .$200 and $300 each. Marquez 
himself levied a contribution on the company of $80,000, besides occasioning 
them a loss, during the three days he staid there, by the stoppage of works, 
stealing of horses, &c., amounting to the value of $20,000. 

I enclose copy of a letter dated the 16th instant, Avhich I have only just 
received, signed by the director and all the Englishmen employed there, by 
which your lordship will see that these poor people write to ask me what 
guarantee there is for the safety of their lives and property. 

Marquez has, I hear, since then threatened another visit to the place, for the 
purpose of levying fresh contributions. Other bands, under Mejia and Velez, 
hold the roads leading to the interior of the republic, and carry out the same 
system of pillage and murder, ha-vdug recently razed to the ground the town of 
Huichapam, and put to death many of its inhabitants. 

The horrible murder, at Napoles, of poor Mr. Beale, a British subject, I have 
already mentioned to your lordship in a separate despatch, and I need only add, 
that notAvithstanding the incessant applications made to this government by both 
myself and her Majesty's consul, the murderers remain still at large, ready to 
destroy the next unprotected foreigner whom they may surprise in an insolated 
place. The fate of this poor man is like that of Stajines, Gibson, Duval, Bod- 
mer, and a long list of others, Avhose deaths still remain unatoned for and 
unavenged. 

Senor Comonfort, ex-president of the republic, has arrived at Monterey, in 
Nuevo Leon, Avhere it is said the governor has made a " pronunciamento " in 
his favor, Avhich will very likely be joined in by the neighbouring States, and 
probably aided by a party in this capital, who are thoroughly disgusted with 
the Aveak and tyrannical government of Seiior Juarez. 

Senor Llave has taken possession of the government of Vera Cruz, and this 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 299 

State, it is thouglit, would immediately separate from the union in the event of 
a rupture with foreign powers. 

The general dissolution of all authority in this, wretched country has so much 
alarmed foreigners resident here that they are obliged to look to their own efforts 
to protect their lives and properties, and, with this object in view, are about to 
arm and organize themselves into a compact body for miitual defence. This 
measure has been sanctioned by their several representatives, and consented to 
by the government, on the express condition stipulated for by my colleagues 
and myself — that they were to remain strictly neutral in all the quarrels of the 
nation, and only act against those who actually attacked them. 
I have, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure in No. 19. 
The Suh-DirectoT and Miners employed at Real del Monte to Sir C. Wyke. 

Eeal del Monte, July 16, 1861. 

Sir : "We, the undersigned, British subjects, residents of Real del Monte and 
Pachuca, take the liberty of addressing you on a most momentoiis question, in 
a word, to ask you, as her Majesty's representative, what guarantee we have for 
the safety of our lives and property. 

"Without referring to antecedents, such as the constant entrance of parties of 
rebels, or anti-government forces, whereby we have been kept in a perpetual 
state of alarm and anxiety, we at once beg to call your serious attention,' and 
through you that of the English government, to what we suifered lately by the 
inroad of the forces under Marquez. 

Our houses were forcibly entered, our females insulted, our lives threatened, 
and our property robbed to a large extent, to say nothing of the heavy losses 
occasioned to the company, of which we have the honor to form part, in forced 
loans, horses and arms taken, and the complete paralyzation of all works for 
days, thereby ; as our interests are so mixed up with the prosperity or otherwise 
of the said company, sixch a loss as they have sustained lately must be felt by 
all. 

On former occasions two Englishmen were killed, and on this one was 
wounded, several were fired at, beaten, and narrowly escaped with their lives, 
and aU this without the least provocation or slightest show of resistance on our 
part. 

"We have the honor to subjoin a list of most of the property lost by the Eng- 
lish residents here; the original list, which is in the company's office, beai'S the 
signature of General Cobos, as approved by him. 

tVe have &c. 

STEWAET J. AULD, Suh-Dlrector. 
RIOHD. SKINFILL, Mine Manager 
G. M. MURRAY, Treasurer. 
Wj\I. R. U. griffin, Surgeon. 
(Here follow 129 signatures of English miners.) 



300 THE PEESENT COA^DITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 20. 
Earl Russell to Sir C. WyJce. 

Foreign Office, August 31, 1861. 

Sir : I liave received and laid before tlie Queen jour despatclies to tliat of 
tlie 28th ultimo, inclusive. 

I have to inform you that your conduct, as stated in your despatch of the 
26th ultimo, is approved by her Majesty's government. Further instructions 
will be sent, and, in the meantime, you will act on my instructions of the 21st 
of August. 



I am, &c. 



RUSSELL. 



No. 21. 

Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 



Paris, S,epterriber 5, 1861. 

M. Thouvenel said that he was so desirous of acting in complete unison with 
her Majesty's government in Mexican affairs, that he had determined on furnish- 
ing M. Dubois de Saligny with instructions completely identical with those 
transmitted by your lordship to Sir Charles Wyke. 

His excellency then requested me to ask your lordship whether it might not 
be advisable to ask the association of the Spanish government in any measures 
which might be taken with regard to Mexico. His excellency observed that 
should a hostile demonstration become necessary, Spain possessed resources at 
the Havana which might be of great assistance to Great Britain and France. 



No. 22. 
Earl Russell to Sir C. Wyke, 



Foreign Office, September 10, 1861. 

Sir: With reference to your despatch of the 11th of July, reporting the mur- 
der of Mr. Beale, and to your despatch of the 28th of that month, enclosing a 
representation from British miners at Real del Monte, I have to state to you that 
such atrocious outrages upon life and property committed towards British sub- 
jects cannot be extenuated by any condition of anarchy or civil war which may 
exist in Mexico, and that her Majesty's government must hold the Mexican na- 
tion answerable for such infamous proceedings. 

I am, &c., RUSSELL. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF J^IEXICO. 301 

No. 23. 
Edrl Russell to Sir C. WyJce. 

Foreign Office, Septemher 10, 1861. 

Sir : I have received your despatches of the 26th aud 28th of July, and I 
have to convey to you the enth-e approval of her Majesty's government of your 
conduct as therein reported. 

The suspension for two years of all payments in discharge of debt, at a time 
when the Mexican government can afford to spend 6,000,000 dollars in six months, 
is a shameless breach of faith, which cannot be in the slightest degree excused 
by the pretences put forward by Seiior Zamacona in its defence. 

Seiior Zamacona asserts that the present government of Mexico are actively 
employed in maintaining internal and social order, in reorganizing the adminis- 
tration of the republic, in introducing rigid economy into all the branches of the 
public service, and in vigorously putting an end to the civil war and restoring 
internal peace to the country. But it is notorious that every one of these asser- 
tions is directly the reverse of the truth. It is well known that life and property 
are nowhere safe, not even in the streets of the capital ; that the administration 
is as corrupt and as reckless of any interests but their own personal advantage 
as any that has heretofore governed in Mexico ; that great anarchy and disorder 
prevail in all the departments of the government ; and that so far from their hav- 
ing applied the resources of the state to a vigorous suppression of the civil war, 
the opposite party under the adherents of Miramon were, by the last accounts, 
in great force within a short distance of the capital, and not unlikely to become 
its masters. 

Her Majesty's government, it is needless to say, cannot accept such excuses 
for the wrongs of which her Majesty's subjects in Mexico have been the victims, 
and therefore, if the proposals contained in my despatches of the 21st ultimo are 
not accepted by the Mexican government, you will finally break off relations, 
and put yourself in communication ynth. Rear- Admiral MUne, who will receive 
instructions from the admiralty on this subject. 

I am, cScc, EUSSELL. 



No. 24. 
Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 



Paris, 8epteviber 10, 1861. 
My Lord : A communication has been made by the Spanish ambassador to 
this government that orders have been sent to the captain-general at the Havana 
to take possession of Vera Cruz and Tampico for the protection of Spanish 
interests in Mexico. 

The Spanish government at the same time professes its deske to act in con- 
cert with Great Britain and France. 

I have, &c., COWLEY. 



302 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 25. 

Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Paris, September 17, 1861, 

I met the Spanish ambassador at M. Thouvenel's this morning, who imme- 
diately turned the conversation on the affairs of Mexico, expressing the hope 
that the governments of Great Britain, France, and Spain, would concert meas- 
ures for common action in order to obtain the satisfaction due to them from the 
Mexican government. 

I replied to M. Mon that I had heard from M. Thouvenel that the Spanish 
government had the intention of acting alone in this matter, and had already 
given orders for the occupation of Vera Cruz and Tampico ; that having trans- 
mitted this information to her Majesty's government. Sir John Crampton had 
been instructed to make inquiries of the Spanish government, and that Marshal 
O'Donnell had denied that any orders of the kind had been given ; I should be 
glad, therefore, to ascertain how this matter really stood. 

M. Mon replied that I must be aware that the Spanish government had more 
than once meditated the employment of force to obtain the satisfaction due to 
them in Mexico, but that they had much rather act in concert with Great Britain 
and France. It would only be in case of the refusal of those two powers to co- 
operate with Spain that she would proceed to act alone. 

I related to M. Thouvenel what had passed between myself and M. Mon, ob- 
sersdng that the Spanish ambassador's language to me did not quite tally with 
what his excellency had stated, the last time I had seen him, had been M. Mon's 
language to himself. 

M. Thouvenel answered that he had not intended to convey more to me than 
that orders had been transmitted to the Havana to make every preparation for 
an expedition against Mexico, the Spanish government hoping to employ it in 
co-operation with British and French ships. M. Thouvenel proceeded to express 
the hope that her Majesty's government would not refuse this cooperation, ob- 
serving that 3,000 Spanish infantry could be sent from the Havana. 

I should mention that when the Spanish ambassador urged the joint action of 
the three governments, I stated to him the value which her Majesty's govern- 
ment must attach to freedom of religious profession and worship. M. Mon said 
that he considered that questions of that nature ought to be left to the decision 
of the Mexican government. He abjured at the same time, on the part of Spain, 
all desire to impose any particular government on Mexico ; all she desired was a 
government chosen by the Mexicans, which would make itself respected and 
would scrupulously fulfil engagements taken with foreign powers. 



No. 26. 
^ir J. Crampton to Earl Russell. 

San Ildefonso, September 13, 1861. 

My Lord : In a late conversation with Marshal O'Donnell his excellency 
spoke of the present deplorable condition of Mexico. 

Spain, he remarked, had suspended her diplomatic relations with the Mexican 
government, and he perceived both France and England had taken the same 
step. But would this be sufficient 1 He thought not. The motives of the 



THE PEESENT CONDITIOJ^ OF MEXICO. 303 

tliree governments in following this course were evidently the same, viz : to 
enforce redress for the intolerable wrongs inflicted upon their respective subjects 
by the anarchical governments which succeeded each other in that distracted 
country. 

It appeared to him, therefore, to be both possible and very desirable that 
England, France, and Spain should come to an understanding as to the adoption 
of some common course in enforcing upon Mexico the observance of her inter- 
national duties. 

" With respect to Spain," the marshal added, " the number of our subjects in 
Mexico is so great, and the interests involved so considerable, that I have no 
hesitation in telling you that we at all events must take decided measures to 
protect them. In short, we shall go there, not certainly with any view of con- 
quest or exclusive advantage, but for the protection of our rights." 

I observed that I was not at present in possession of the precise views of her 
Majesty's government as to what had lately taken place in Mexico, or the rem- 
edies 's\'hich would be applicable to what seemed an almost hopeless state of 
affairs. I was, however, aware that British subjects had suffered repeated acts 
of oppression and denial of justice in Mexico, and I had seen it reported that 
our diplomatic relations with that covmtry had been suspended. I would not 
fail, consequently, to acquaint your lordship with what has now fallen from his 
excellency on this matter. 

On piu-suing the subject I did not find Marshal O'Donnell prepared to suggest 
any definite plan of action on the part of the powers whose joint intervention 
he recommended. His excellency remarked, however, that the notion which 
had at different times been put forward of establishing by foreign intervention 
a constitutional monarchy in Mexico was, in his opinion, very chimerical, and 
he seemed entirely to concur in the justness of a remark which I made in regard 
to this matter, viz : that any engagement which should bind England, France, 
and Spain to a permanent intervention and tutelage of any sort in the internal 
affairs of a country so situated as Mexico would be liable to grave objections. 

I am the more particular in drawing your lordship's attention to this opinion 
of Marshal O'Donnell, because a large portion of the Spanish press has lately 
been advocating an intervention of this sort, and the establishment of a monarchy 
in Mexico, and indulging in wild speculations as to the recovery by Spain of 
her ancient possessions in America and the " Indies." 
I have, &c., 

JOHN F. CEAMPTON. 



No. 27. 
Sir J. Crampton to Earl Russell. 

' San Ildefonso, Septmiber 16, 1861. 

My Lord : Upon the receipt of your lordship's telegram of the 14th instant, 
informing me that Lord Cowley had reported that the Spanish ambassador at 
Paris had announced that the captain-general of Cuba had been ordered to take 
possession of Vera Cruz or Tampico for the protection of Spanish interests in 
Mexico, and that the Spanish government at the same time proposes to act 
in concert with England and France, I immediately waited upon Marshal 
O'Donnell and requested him to inform me whether this announcement had 
been made. 

His excellency replied that, with respect to the desire of Spain to adopt a 
common course with France and England for obtaining satisfaction from Mexico 
for the wrongs inflicted upon their respective subjects, both M. Mon and M. 



304 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Isturiz had been instructed in the same terms to express this desire to the 
French and British governments, and to add that if those governments declined 
to adopt the coursep roposed, Spain would nevertheless feel it necessary to take, 
singly, such measiires as might be necessary to vindicate her rights. As re- 
garded the statement that the captain-general of Cuba had been ordered to take 
possession of Vera Cruz or Tampico, or to undertake any "military operations 
against Mexico, it must have originated in a misapprehension, because he could 
assure me that no such orders had been given. 

It was the Avish of the Spanish government, the marshal added, to act in con- 
cert with France and England in regard to this matter, and he had desired to 
ascertain the disposition of the two governments to do so previously to deciding 
upon the measures which would be necessary to eflfect the object in view. 

All that the Spanish government had done, therefore, was to take such pre- 
paratory measures as were necessary to place them in a position to act effica- 
ciously when the proper time came. With this view orders had been given to 
reinforce the garrison of Cuba by an addition of 4,000 troops, and to increase 
tire naval force of Spain in the West Indies. The amount of the army in Ou.ba 
would be raised to about 25,000 men, and the naval force (the present amount 
of which his excellency did not mention) would be increased by the presence of 
tlie four screw frigates in which it was proposed to embark the troops from 
Spain. Two of these frigates were now about to sail ; the remaining two would 
be ready at the end of the present month. 

With regard to military operations against Mexico the marshal remarked that 
nothing could be undertaken before the commencement of November. The 
j^ellow fever prevailed at Vera Cruz and other parts of the coast during the 
present month, and the hurricanes which never failed to take place in the Gulf 
of Mexico during the equinox put any such operations out of the question before 
that period. There would, consequently, be. ample time for the Spanish gov- 
ernment to ascertain whether the French and English governments were dis- 
posed to act in concert with them, and to take measures for so doing in case 
those governments should agree to adopt that course. 
I have, &c., 

JOHN F. ORAMPTON. 



No. 28. 
Lord Lyons to Ea7-l Russell. 



Washington, Septemher 10, 1861. 

My Lord : Mr. Seward told me this morning that he had authorized the 
United States minister in Mexico to conclude a convention with that republic, 
in virtue of which the United States should assume the obligation to pay three 
per cent, interest on the foreign debt of Mexico during the period for which the 
payment of the interest on this debt is suspended by the recent decree of the 
Mexican government. The lands, minerals, &c., of certain provinces of Mexico 
were to be pledged to the United States, as a guarantee that Mexico would re- 
pay to them, with six per cent, interest, the sum which they woidd thus ad- 
vance for her. 

The particulars of the scheme were, Mr. Seward said, to be communicated to 
the governments of Great Britain and France, and the validity of the convention 
was to be conditional upon those governments engaging not to take any measures 
against Mexico to enforce the payment of the interest of the loan until time had 
been given to submit the convention to the ratification of the United States 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 305 

Senate at the session which begins in December next. It was also to be a 
condition that if the convention should be ratified by the United States Senate, 
Great Britain and France should engage not to make any demand upon Mexico 
for the interest, except upon its failing to be punctually paid by the United 
States. 

The inducement to the United States to take upon themselves the payment 
appeared to be the extreme importance to them of the independence of Mexico. 
So far as I could ascertain, the instructions to the American minister with regard 
to this convention do not direct him to propose an alliance offensive and defen- 
sive between the two republics, nor, indeed, any other stipulations than those I 
have mentioned. 

I have, &c., 

LYONS. 



No. 29. 
Eai'l Russell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, September 23, 1861. 

Sir : With reference to the affairs of Mexico, I have to state to you that it is 
most desirable that complications in this question should be avoided. 

Certain rights on the customs of Vera Cruz and Tampico have been secured 
to her Majesty's government by convention. 

To secure these and other rights the government of Mexico has been invited 
to give the control of those customs to British commissioners, who, it is under- 
stood, should also pay to other nations the sums due to them, and secured on the 
same customs. 

No orders have as yet been given by her Majesty's government for the em- 
ployment of force in Mexico, and they would be glad to knoT\r if the Spanish 
government will agree to postpone their action till England and France can 
have time to confer as to acting in concert. ^ 

I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No. 30. 
Harl Russell to Earl Coicley. 



Foreign Office, September 23, 1861. 

My Lord : The Count de Flahault has communicated to me the substance 
of a despatch from his government on the affairs of Mexico. 

In this despatch M. Thouvenel, referring to the instructions recently given 
by the two powers to their representatives in Mexico, and which, if the demands 
presented therein to be made on the Mexican government are acquiesced in, will 
admit o^' the resumption of official relations on their part with the goveAiment of 
the republic, proceeds to say that it is necessary to provide for the two contin- 
gencies, of a refusal on the part of the Mexican government, or of the overthrow 
of tlie Juarez government before the English and French ministers receive their 
instructions. 

M. Thouvenel then adverts to the measures of coercion to which, in the first 
case, the two governments might have recourse, and to the importance of coming 
to an early understanding on that point ; and he goes on to say that, even sup- 
II. Ex. Doc. 100 20 



306 THE PEESENT CONDITIO?^ OF MEXICO. 

posing tlie second contingency to be realized, tlie tTvo governments wonld, 
nevertheless, have to devise means for obtaining redress of grievances, and for 
insuring tlie payments of the debts which have been formally acknowledged. 

M. Thouvenel is, however, of opinion that the two governments should 
carry their common understanding still further, and devise means for promoting 
the political reorganization of Mexico ; and M. Thouvenel expresses his willing- 
ness to take as a basis the measm-es fonnerly suggested by her Majesty's gov- 
ernment, as affording the best means of arriving at the pacification of the coun- 
try, namely, the publication of a genei*al amnesty, and the convocation of an 
extraordinary congress. He expresses his opinion, however, that the cabinet of 
Madiid should be invited to conciu- in the course to be taken by the two powers, 
and that the cabinet of Washington should also have the opportunity afforded 
to it of joining the other powers. 

Finally, M. Thouvenel adverts to a communication just made to him by the 
Spanish ambassador of the intended despatch of a Spanish force from the Havana 
to the coast of Mexico, and of the readiness of the court of Madrid to act in con- 
cert with France and England. 

Upon this matter I "n-ish you to observe to M. Thouvenel that the demands of 
Great Britain upon Mexico are founded upon two principles : 

1. The right to rec[uire secui'ity for the lives, and respect for the property of 
British subjects in Mexico. 

2. The right to exact the fulfilment of obligations contracted towards Great 
Britain by the government of Mexico. 

On these two principles are founded the claims urged by Sir C. TYyke. The 
British government is ready to prosecute these claims by its own means, or to 
join with other powers who have claims founded on similar principles regarding 
then- own subjects. 

Her Majesty's government are glad to find by M. Thouvenel's despatch that 
the government of his Imperial Majesty takes the same view of this matter, and 
her Majesty's government will willingly enter into concert with the government 
of France as to the coiu-se to be pursued. Her Majesty's government also fully 
concurs with M. Thouvenel in thinking that before any active steps are taken in 
this matter by the Eurppean powers, an offer of co-operation ought to be made 
by them to the government of the United States. The interest of the United 
State in the peace and prosperity of Mexico is such that her Majesty's govern- 
ment agree "^dth M. Thouvenel in thinking that full commimication should be 
made to the United States government. * 

It does not appear that the Spanish government have as yet sent any precise 
orders for the immediate employment of then' forces in Mexico. There is, there- 
fore, time for deliberation and concert. 

With respect to the measures to be taken for the future peace and tranquillity 
of Mexico, her Majesty's government are ready to discuss the subject with 
France, Spain, and the United States. But it is evident that much must de- 
pend on the actiial state of affairs at the time when our forces may be ready to 
act on the shores of Mexico. The measures sus's-ested some time a^o by her 
Majesty's govennnent appear to be inapplicable to the present state of aflfau-s. 
I am, &:c., 

KUSSELL. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION *0F MEXICO. 307 



No. 31. 

M. Isturiz to Earl Russell. 

[Translation.] 

London, September 23, 1861. 

My Lord : The despatches wliicli I have lately received from my government 
announce to me an important fact. 

The injuries which the republic of Mexico seems determined to inflict upon 
us being unceasingly repeated, and all the measures of consideration which 
Spain is always inclined to adopt, so far as honor will permit, having been ex- 
hausted, the government of the Queen my august sovereign has at length resolved 
to obtain by force the reparation that is due to it. 

The despatches of my government also inform me that Sir John Orampton, 
the representative of Great Britain in Madrid, is already aware of this resolu- 
tion, and of the sentiments which dictate it, so that I might almost dispense with 
communicating it to your excellency. 

HoAvever, it has appeared proper to me not to omit it, so that your excellency 
may be fully informed of this affair through the most direct channel. 

The government of the Queen, my mistress, has therefore made arrangements 
to operate energetically in Mexico, and hopes to obtain the satisfaction that it 
claims, although it does not disguise from itself that the result of any demonstra- 
tion of this sort would be more permanent if other governments, those of Eng- 
land and France, for example, having injuries to avenge, should think proper to 
unite their forces to those of Spain. 

A combination of this kind would perhaps avert the repetition of such scan- 
dals, and contribute to the recognition by the Mexicans of the necessity of con- 
stituting a government which would give security at home, and sufficient guar- 
antees abroad. 

With this object, I have, &c., 

XAVIEE E. ISTUEIZ. 



No. 32. 

Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Paris, September 24, 1S61.. 

I had the honor to receive, this morning, your lordship's despatch of yester- 
day's date, giving me the substance of a communication Avhich had been made 
to you by Count de Flahault on the affairs of Mexico, and stating the willing- 
ness of her Majesty's government to concert with the French and other govern- 
ments recognizing the same principles of action as her Majesty's government, 
the course which should be pursued by them in that country. 

M. Thouvenel, on my communicating to him your lordship's despatch, ex- 
pressed his concurrence in the views of her Majesty's government, but he re- 
marked that as your lordship seemed to be of opinion that the measures suggested' 
some time ago for the pacification of Mexico were inapplicable to the present 
state of affairs, he should be glad to receive from you the plan of action which, 
you now propose to follow. 
^ I inquired of M. Thouvenel whether he was in possession of any intelligence, 
either from Washington or from Mr. Dayton, of a proposal made by the United 



308 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

States 'government to that of Mexico with regard to the payment of the interest 
on the Mexican foreign debt; and finding that no intelhgence on the subject 
had reached his excellency, I stated to him the substance of Lord Lyons's de- 
spatch to yonr lordship of the 10th instant. M, Thouvenel expressed the opin- 
ion that these proposals of the United States must be dealt with before the 
other governments interested in the Mexican question conld settle any plan of 
common action, and he expressed himself very anxious to know the opinion of 
her Majesty's government. It might not be possible, he said, to prevent the 
United States offering money to Mexico, or to prevent Mexico receiving money 
from the United States, but neither England nor Franee ought in any way to 
recognize the transaction. 

I said that I trusted that, in case of Mr. Dayton making any representation 
on this subject, M. Thouvenel would abstain from all reply until I should be in 
a position to inform him of the views of her Majesty's government, and his ex- 
cellency promised me to follow this course. 



No. 33. 

Earl F^ussell to Earl Goicley. 

Foreign Office, Sici^ember 27, 1861. 

My Lord : I received from Mr. Adams on the 25th instant an explanation of 
the proposals the United States wish to make to Great Britain and France in 
the affairs of Mexico. 

He said that the United States government were considerably alarmed at the 
statements made in the newspap.ers regarding an intervention in Mexico, 
which was supposed to be in the contemplation of Great Britain, France, and 
Spain. 

The United States government were aware that Great Britain, France, and 
Spain, as well as the United States, had many grievances to complain of on the 
part of the government of Mexico ; but a direct intervention, with a Adew to 
organize a new government in Mexico, and especially the active participation of 
Spain in such an enterprise, vi^ould excite strong feelings in the United States. 
It would be considered as that kind of direct interference in the internal affairs 
of America to which the United States had always been opposed. In fact, 
there was a sort of u.nderstanding that so long as European powers did not 
interfere in America, the United States might abstain from European alliances ; 
biit if a combination of powers were to .^organize a government in Mexico, the 
United States would feel themselves compelled to choose their allies in Europe, 
and take their part in the wars and treaties of Europe. 

The United States government thought that such a necessity woitld be avoided 
if Great Britain and France would accept the payment of interest by the United 
States of the debt due by Mexico to Great Britain and France ; this advance to 
be continued only for a time till Mexico should be able to defray her OAvn obli- 
gations. 

I replied by relating to him, in the first place, what had taken place in Mexico 
itself. I then stated the overture of M. Thouvenel, including the proposal to 
make offers to the government of the United States to act in co-operation with 
ns on this subject. That we had replied we had but two objects in view : 1. 
Security to the persons and property of British subjects. 2. The fulfilment of 
all the obligations of Mexico to her Majesty. Mr. Adams, I continued, would 
see that our demands embraced not only the payment of interest on a debt 
which might be settled by naming a fixed sum, be it more or less, but also com- 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 309 

prehended satisfaction for the injuries done to British subjects ; that we could 
hardly transfer these obligations to the United States without raising an indefi- 
nite number of questions of detail, upon which Great Britain and Mexico 
would have to appeal to the equity of the United States ; that I thought it the 
interest of our two countries to have as few entangling questions and clashing 
interests as possible. I shoiild be afraid that our friendly relations might be 
endangered if we increased the number of points upon which we might come 
into collision ; that, without giving him a final answer, I could tell him at once 
that I thought the proposition of his government open to very grave objections. 

"Without entering further upon its merits, however, I had a counter proposi- 
tion to make, which I thought deserved the serious consideration of his govern- 
ment, to whom I begged it might be submitted. 

I was as apprehensive as he was of an attempt to build upon the foundation 
of debts and injuries a claim to organize a new government in Mexico ; that I 
was convinced that, of all countries, Mexico was the one where intervention in 
its internal affairs would bring the most severe disappointment upon its authors ; 
that the factions in that country were too hostile to each other and too sanguinary 
in then tempers to be recognized by a small force of Europeans in the name of 
order and moderation. But might not the evils we both feared be guarded 
against by defining terms of co-operation with Spain which would exclude in- 
terference in the internal affairs of Mexico ? Would not this be a better course 
than leaving Spain to seek her own vindication and afterwards opposing the 
results of her operations 1 

I read to Mr. Adams part of Sir John Crampton's despatch of the 13th 
instant, to show him that Marshal O'Donnell was by no means desirous of un- 
dertaking the reconquest of the Indies. 

Mr. Adams promised me that he would communicate this view to his govern- 
ment. 

Her Majesty's government are of opinion that if any combined operations are 
to be taken against Mexico they should be founded on these two bases : 

1. The combined powers of France, Great Britain, Spain, and the United 
States feel themselves compelled by the lawless and flagitious conduct of the 
authorities of Mexico to seek from those authorities protection for the persons 
and property of their subjects and a fulfilment of the obligations contracted by 
the repiiblic of Mexico towards their governments. 

2. The said combined powers hereby declare that they do not seek any aug- 
mentation of territory, or any special advantage, and that they will not en- 
deavor to interfere in the internal affairs of Mexico or with the free choice of its 
form of government by its people. 

You will read- this despatch to M. Thouvenel, and give him a copy of it. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No. 34. 
Eaii Russell to Earl Coivley. 

Foreign Office, Septemher 27, 1861. 

My Lord: With reference to my preceding despatch of this day's date, I 
transmit herewith, for your excellency's infonnation, copy of a despatch from 
her Majesty's minister at Madrid* upon the subject of the state of aftairs at 
Mexico, and which is alluded to in my above-mentioned despatch. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 

<>No. 26. 



310 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



No. 35. 

Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, September 27, 1861. 

Sir : I enclose a copy of a note wliicli Mr. Isturiz Las sent me.* 

Her Majesty's government have many injuries to complain of in regard to 
Mexico, especially tlie atrocious robbery committed in the house of her Majesty's 
legation at Mexico, and against which the Spanish minister in Mexico protested 
in vain. 

Her Majesty's government would willingly co-operate with those of France 
and Spain in enforcing redress for these wrongs. There are, however, two con- 
ditions which her Majesty's government deem essential : 

The first is, that the co-operation of the United States should be invited. 

The second is, that the combined powers should not interfere by force in the 
internal government of Mexico. 

Her Majesty's government would be happy to see the Mexicans constitute a 
government " which would give security at home and sufficient guarantees 
abroad." But her Majesty's government are persuaded that any attempt to 
effect this desirable purpose by force of arms would fail in its purpose. If the 
force were Spanish, one of the contending parties would be fiercely opposed to 
it ; if it Avere English, the opposite party would be as strongly its antagonist. 
Nor is any other foreign force likely to be received with favor. The Mexicans 
themselves can alone put an end to the anarchy and violence which have torn 
Mexico to pieces during the last years. 

I trust this view is in accordance with the sentiments of the Duke of Tetuan 
and the government of her Catholic Majesty. 
I am, &c., 

KUSSELL. 



No. 36. 
Earl Russell to M. de Isturiz. 



Foreign Office, September 27, 1861. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 23d 
instant, acquainting me with the course which your government propose to pur- 
sue with a view to obtaining satisfaction for the injuries inflicted on Spanish 
subjects in Mexico, and pointing out the advantage of concerted action on the 
part of England, France, and Spain, for the purpose of putting an end to the 
present state of affairs in that republic; and I beg leave to assure you, in reply 
that the question shall be dl^ly considered by her Majesty's government. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 

« No. 31. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 311 



No. 37. 

Earl Russell to Lord Lyo7is. 

Foreign Office, September 28, 1861. 

My Lord : I transmit to your lorclsliip herewith a copy of a despatch which 
I have addressed to Earl Cowley,* giving his excellency an account of a con- 
versation which I have had with Mr. Adams respecting the proposal of the 
government of the United States in regard to Mexico, referred to in your de- 
spatch of the 10th instant, and I have to instruct your lordship to speak to 
Mr. Seward in the same sense as that in which I spoke to Mr. Adams. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No. 38. 
Earl Russell to Sir C. Wyke. 

Foreign Office, September 28,' 1861. 

Sir: I have to state to you, with reference to my despatches of the 21st of 
August and of the 10th of September, that if circumstances should have caused 
you to quit the territory of the Mexican republic, you are at liberty to use your 
own discretion as to the direc.tion in Avhich you shall proceed, keeping, how- 
ever, in the neighborhood of Admiral Milne, and having means of ready com- 
munication with him. 

You will, of course, give notice to Rear- Admiral Milne ; but that officer will 
not yet have received the instructions from the admiralty to which I alluded in 
my despatch of the 10th of this month, inasmuch as her Majesty's government 
are still in communication with the governments of other powers having similar 
interests in Mexico to those of this country, as to the course which should be 
pursued under the existing state of things in that republic. 
I am, &c., 

RUSSELL. 



No. 39. 
Sir C. Wyke to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, Augttst 8, 1861. 

My Lord : Li the postscript of my despatch of the 26th ultimo I stated 
that I should merely acknowledge receipt of the private note I had just received 
from Seiior Zamacona, but on reflection I thought it better not to leave unan- 
SAVcred the false and incorrect statements it contained, and I therefore replied 
to him on the 30th ultimo, copy of which note I have now the honor to enclose 
for your lordship's information. 
I have, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 

<>No. 33. 



312 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Enclosure in No. 39. 

Sir C. Wyke to Senor Zamacona. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, July 30, 1861. 

I can really see no good reason for continuing a correspondence whicli cannot 
in any way alter, as yon seem to suppose it may do, the resolution I liave 
adopted to suspend all official relations with your government; yet, out of 
courtesy to one so well entitled to it as yourself, I will not leave unanswered 
your note of the 27th, with the premise, however, that having fulfilled this 
duty, all further communications relative to this matter must cease. 

It is remarkable that, mutually desirous as we are of stating the truth, we 
should each feel the greaitest astonishment at the other's entertaining so diamet- 
rically opposite an opinion upon a subject which, on being calmly considered, 
can only be lot>ked at in one point of view. 

If you feel surprise that I should have demanded the repeal of the decree of 
the lYth instant, how much greater must mine have been on finding that your 
government had dared to issue it without consulting with me as the representative 
of that power which was the other contracting party to a convention which said 
decree shamefully violated. 

I cannot appreciate the false pride which, according to what you state, was 
the principal reason for not complying with what I demanded; for when either 
a nation or an individual is in the wrong, it is not dishonorable to confess it, 
and to offer reparation for the offence given. Had your government withdrawn 
the decree, they would not have been disgraced by giving way, as you assert, 
to the dictation of foreign diplomacy, but they would simply have retrieved a 
false step, and, in doing so, relieved themselves from an amount of responsibility 
of which at present they seem to have no idea. 

In order to sustain your argument you make a number of quotations from 
various authors who have written on international law; but apart from the fact 
that such quotations are valueless without their context, there is one amongst 
them that directly condemns a measure whicli you have always said was meant 
to relieve the State from its pecuniary difficulties. De Martens, you say, states 
that the party -violating an engagement is liable to indemnify the other party 
where such breach of contract has been caused by the offender's fault. 

Now, the government of President Juarez on coming to power was possessed 
of ample means to liquidate all the engagements binding on the republic, but by 
their Avilful recklessness and want of common prudence they dissipated their 
resources, and then fell into the difficulties from which they are now vainly en- 
deavoring to extricate themselves by repudiating their obligations ; they there- 
fore clearly become liable to indemnify Great Britain, and thus, as I have all 
along told you, you aggravate instead of mitigate the evil of your povertyby 
the decree of the 17th. 

You go on to say that many of your misfortunes have been occasioned by 
diplomatic agents here having acknowledged a government which you dislike ; 
and, in reply, I can only once more observe that such agents were obliged, on 
the principle now universally recognized, to acknowledge a real bona fide de facto 
government holding the capital and the archives of the nation. 

As for your remarks about church property, let me remind you that it is diffi- 
cult to overcome the inexorable logic of facts by a few well-turned phrases ; we 
all know what that property was, and we are now equally well aware that your 
government is in a state of peaury, and with respect to the means proposed for 
paying the English claimants, I thought I had abeady told you that they had 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 313 

been condemned, on reflection, by tbe parties tliemselves, and not tbrough any 
obstacle tbat I bad thrown in tbe way. 

In tbe matter of tbe Lagnna Seca "condncta," I repeat tbat I am justified in 
calHng robbery tbe act of taking by force tbat wbicb belongs to anotber and 
not returning it ; promises and fair words go for notbing in sucb a case as tbis ; 
and I also beg again to assert tbat tbe government wbicb committed tbe legation 
outrage was a de facto government recognized by tbe agents of European powers 
resident bere. 

Under tbese circumstances, and witb tbe greatest desire to meet your wishes, 
allow me bere to observe tbat I can really find notbing in your note but what 
confirms me still more in a resolution forced on me by tbe obstinacy of your 
government, and wbicb my duty likewise absolutely compelled me to adopt. 

If you bad studied tbe history of the Mexican debt to the EngHsh bond- 
holders with the attention that it really deserves, you wou.ld have learnt tbat 
the latter have in reality sacrificed, in order to relieve the republic at various 
times, the enormous sum of upwards of $59,000,000. Tbe last great concession 
made was in 1850, when the interest was reduced from five to three per cent,, a 
trcinsaction which your own financial agent, Senor Payno, boasts of in his state- 
ment of 1852 as having benefited tbe republic to tbe amount of $25,581,570. 

You have further thought fit to attack tbe nature of the British convention, 
and I must therefore remind you that it was founded entirely on British claims, 
the justice of which the Mexican government acknowledged in signing tbat act, 
and tbat if a great many of tbe bonds are now held by Mexicans instead of 
Englishmen, it has so come about in the natural course of money transactions 
on 'change, where bonds and shares p^-ss from hand to hand according to the 
wants of buyers and fellers. 

With regard to what you say in reply to my complaint of so many English- 
men having been butchered witb impunity by your countrymen, it is no satis- 
faction to me to learn as a set-off tbat some Mexicans have also been murdered 
by their fellow-citizens without tbe crime having been punished. 

These crimes, and the senseless wars carried on here since the declaration of 
your independence, are to be attributed to the bad passions of a vitiated popu- 
lation, which alone can be held responsible for a state of things unparalleled in 
the annals of the civilized world. 

I cannot, in justice to myself, conclude this letter without telling you frankly 
tbat I consider the mere fact of my havmg under existing circumstances ex- 
pressed an interest in tbe solution of tbe present question, ought to have saved 
me from the reproof of having proposed to your government what was incom- 
patible both witb my 0A^'Tl and their dignity; and excuse me for adding tbat 
sucb a proposition as I have made to you does not necessarily become undigni- 
fied and impracticable simply because you, an interested person, are pleased to 
say so. 



No.-40. 
Sir C. Wyhe to Lord J. Russell. 

[Extract.] 



Mexico, August 12, 1861. 

In my despatch of the 27tb of May last I pointed out to your lordship tbe 
nature of the terms accepted by Mr. Mathew on his recognition of tbe Juarez 
government, for tbe repayment of tbe $660,000 robbed from the British legation 
in the month of November last, by which that government promised to reimburse 
the money so stolen, by confiscating for that purpose the private property of all 
those persons found guilty, by a legal sentence, of participating in that outrage. 



314 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

The enclosed extract from Saturday's "Estafette" gives an account of tlie 
sentence which has been passed on three of the persons implicated, viz : Don 
Isidro Diaz, Francisco Montero, and Teofilo IMarin, the first of whom was min- 
ister of justice and legal adviser to General Miramon. 

The wretched quibble bj which the accused are declared innocent of robbery, 
while found guilty of "occupying" funds belonging to the English bondholders, 
is quite in character with all that is now occurring here, and proves the utter 
degradation of a government whose judges even make use of a slang phrase, 
such as "ocupacion" has become, in order not to employ the word properly 
qualifying a crime which, instead of punishing, they seek to palliate by such 
unworthy means. 

This sentence will, of course, have the eflPect of absolving Marquez and all 
others implicated in the robbery, as it frees them from the danger of criminal 
prosecution for what is now designated as merely a civil misdemeanor, the only 
punishmeut for which is dismissal from ofiices long ago forfeited by all the parties 
engaged in this affair. 

As far as we are concerned, therefore, in our relations with the Mexican gov- 
ernment the case stands thus : 

They deny their responsibility for any acts of their predecessors, whose pri- 
vate property they say should be confiscated to repay the money stolen ; and 
when measures are apparently taken for that purpose, the judge who tries the 
case declares that the accused are only guilty of a misdemeanor, and, therefore, 
that their property is safe from confiscation for so trifling an offence, for which 
they Ccm only be proceeded against by civil process, as for the recovery of a 
debt, which under the circumstances would be an absurdity. We thus neither 
obtain justice nor compensation, unless her Majesty's government are determined 
to obtain both, by employing the only means likely to succeed with a govern- 
ment so utterly unprincipled as this. 



Enclosure in No. 40. 
Extract from the ''Estafette" of August 10, 1861. 

Les Proces Politiques. — Le juge de district a rendu sa sentence dans le 
proces intente a MM. Isidro Diaz, Francisco Montero, et Teofilo Marin. L'ac- 
quittement a ete prononce sur le chef de vol des fonds de la convention Anglaise. 

Les considerans sur lesquels s'appuie cette decision judiciaire meritent d'etre 
connus ; aussi reproduisons nous ici le texte de la sentence : 

" Juzgado de district de Mexico. — En la ville de Mexico, le 3 Aout, 1861, le 
citoyen Licencie Jesus Maria de Herrera, deuxieme Supple ant de Juzgado de 
district de la capitale de la republique : vu les pieces du proces intente a MM. 
Francisco Montero, Isidro Diaz, et Teofilo Marin, pour vol des fonds de la con- 
vention Anglaise (tels sont les termes contenus dans I'acte d'accusation) commis 
le 17 Novembre, 1860, dans la maison situee Rue de Oapuchinas et portant le 
No. 11, a declare : 

"Oonsiderant que la saisie ('ocupacion') de fonds publics ou particuliers 
executee par des individus qui sont en etat de rebellion contre le gouvernement 
legitime, ou, en d'autres termes, que le fait de s'emparer par la ^dolence de valeurs 
appartenant a des particuliers ou a des corporations, aux etats ou au tresor public 
de la federation, constitue un cas expressement prevu par les lois du pays, et 
notamment par la loi du 22 Fevrier, 1832, declaree en pleine vigueur par I'Ar- 
ticle 58 de la loi du 6 Decembre, 1856, prescrivant les peiues encourues pour 
delits contre la nation, contre I'ordre et la paix publique; 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 315 

" Oonsiderant que ces faits entrainent pour leurs auteurs et les complices de 
ces derniers, non la responsabilite criminelle, mais une responsabilite purement 
civile, (* responsabilidad puramente civil,') attendu que la susdite loi de Fevrier, 
1832, se borne ^ les declarer responsables solidairement dans leurs biens propres 
('responsables de mancomun in solidum con sus bienes propios,') sans autre peine 
que le perte des bonneurs et des emplois dont, au moment de consommer la saisie 
('ocupaciones') jouissaient les individus en revolte contre le gouvernement ; 

" Oonsiderant qu'en raison de ce qui precede, il existe une difference substan- 
tielle entre les saisies (' ocupaciones ') de fonds publics ou particuliers operees par 
les agents de la rebellion dans le but de favoriser et soutenir celle-ci, et les vols 
commis par des individus n'ayant pas ce caractere et n'ayant d'autre but que de 
tirer un avantage personnel de I'argent dont ils s'emparent; attendu que le pre- 
mier cas constitue simplement un delit politique qui aux yeux de la loi n'a d'autre 
c-onsequence que la responsabilite purement civile ('responsabilidad puramente 
civil,') tandis que le second constitue un delit de I'ordre commun qualifie de vol 
et dont les auteurs et leurs' complices sont designes sous le nom de voleurs 
('ladrones ') et meritent les peines qui re'sultent non seulement de la responsabilite 
civile mais des delits criminels ; 

"Oonsiderant comme etant comprise dans la premiere categorie la saisie des 
fonds destines au paiement des creanciers Anglais, executee par ordre des cbefs 
rebelles Miramon et Marquez, le 17 Novembre, 1860, dans la maison portant le 
No. 11 de la Rue de Capuchinas de cette ville, attendu que ce fait a tons les 
caracteres definis par la loi du 22 Fevrier, 1832 ; 

"Oonsiderant que, en raison de ce qui precede, les auteurs et complices de la 
saisie doivent etre considere's simplement comme passibles de la responsabilite 
civile ('responsabilidad civil') pour le seul fait de la saisie, dans les termes in- 
diques par la susdite loi, attendu que la responsabilite criminelle ne resulte que 
des delits de I'ordre coiumun qui ont pu se commettre a I'occasion de la saisie, 
soit qu'ils consistent dans la violence exercee contre les personnes en les mal- 
traitant, en les blessant, ou en leur donnant la mort, soit qu'ils se rapportent aux 
cboses, en for§ant les serrures, en brisant les coffres ou en violant les scelles 
destines a proteger les valeurs saisies ; 

" Oonsiderant qu'il resulte, soit du proces-verbal inscrit aux feuillets 7, 8, 9, 
et 10 du dossier principal, et dresse par ' I'escribano Negreiros ' sur les faits qui 
se passerent lors de I'occupation des fonds des creanciers Anglais, le 17 Novem- 
bre, 1860, soit des declarations foumies par MM. Antonio Barreda et Ricardo 
Ituarte, enregistrees aux feuillets 4 et 12 du dossier des preuves, ainsi que de 
celles fournies par MM. Ignacio de la Barrera et Juan Ramirez, feuillets 7 et 9 
verso du dit dossier ; que M. Francisco Montero n'est pas intervenu, et m^me 
n'etait pas present lorsque, pendant I'accomplissement de la saisie (' ocupacion ') 
les delits dont il est question ont pu se commettre, attendu que, bien que sa 
signature figure au proces-verbal, le notaire ne fait pas figurer son nom parmi 
ceux des personnes qui ont ete temoins des faits expressement enonces dans le 
corps de ce document ; d'autre part qu'il faut donner a cette insertion la valeur 
attribute aux declarations de MM. Andres Maria Peza, Luis Oarrion, et Angel 
Buneuabad, inscrites aux feuillets 5 verso, 6 recto, 8 recto et verso, et 11 recto 
et verso du susdit dossier des preuves, c'est-a-dire, que le fait s'est bornfe a 
recevoir la somme saisie, et que M. Francisco Montero n'a pas ete present a 
I'accomplissement des faits, attendu qu'il est prouve qu'il se presenta au lieu de 
la saisie apres que les fonds avaient etd enleves et transportes dans la cour de 
la maison portant le numero 11 ; 

" Oonsiderant que ce simple fait no rend pas M. Francisco Montero responsa- 
ble des actes plus ou moins criminels qui ont pu s'accomplir avant et pendant 
la saisie (' ocupacion ') dans renceinte des pieces ou se trouvaient deposees les 
fonds de la convention Anglais, et qu'il constitue Texcrcice d'une des attribu- 
tions naturelles de son emploi de commissaire de I'armee reactionnaire, ce qui 



316 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

constitiie la responsabilite politiqiie qui incombe, d'apres la constitution et les 
lois en vigueur, a tons ceux qui servent les gouveniements emanes cle la rebellion ; 

" Oonsiderant que cette derniere responsabilite meme ne pese pas sur le susdit 
Don Francisco Montero, attendu que les circulaires publiees pai'le gouvernement 
national les 8 Mars et 30 Avril de la presente annee bornent Taction de la justice 
aux cliefs (' cabecillas ') de rebellion et a ceux qui en qualite de ministres d'etat 
ont servi les administrations illegitimes de Miramon et de Zuloaga, et que les 
circulair^ amnistient (' amnistiando ') tons les autres employes d'un ordre 
secondaire, au nombre desquels doit dtre place le commissaire general de I'armee 
(' comisario general del ejercito ') ; 

" Considerant qui s'il est vrai qu'il pent resulter contre M. Francisco Montero 
un motif plus grave de responsabilite du fait de sa presence dans la maison ou 
les fouds ont ete saisis, par cela seul qu'il les a re9us (circonstance pleinement 
prouvee dans le proces,) il n'en est pas de meme en ce qui conceme M. Isidro 
Diaz et M. Teofilo Marin, auxquels, bien qu'il n'existe contre eux aiTcune preuve 
relativement a la saisie des fonds de la convention Anglaise, le jiTge charge de 
I'instruction de la cause a attribud une responsabilite de simple probabilite 
(' mera probabilidad '), suppleant par le fait de la presomption (' conciencia de 
hombre ') a I'absence de preuves legales et autlientiques ; 

"Oonsiderant enfin qu'il est impropre (' impropia ') et contraire aux termes 
expres de la loi du 22 Fevrier, 1832, de qualifier de vol par bande (' robo en 
cuadrilla'), comme il a ete fait dans I'acte ■ d'accusation, la saisie des fonds des- 
tines au paiement des creaneiers Anglais, attendu les faits dnonces dans les 
premiers motifs; d'ou il resulte que la loi du 5 Janvier, 1857, relative au juge- 
ment des voleurs, des homicides, des auteurs de voies de fait et des vagabonds 
('ladrones, homicidas, heridores y vagos ') ne pouvait pas servir de guide dans 
I'instruction du proces et dans la decision, vu qu'elle ne traite pas de delits 
communs (' responsabilidades comunes ') qui sent du ressort de la justice ordi- 
nah-e, mais de delits politiques et civils ('politicosy civiles '), lesquels sont 
exclusivement du ressort des tribunaux de la federation, aux teimes des lois 
speciales du 22 Fevrier, 1832, et du 6 Ddcembre, 1856; 

" II devait absoudre et il a absout en ce qui concerne cette accusation, con- 
formement aux dispositions de la susditeloi du 22 Fevrier, 1832, MM. Francisco 
Montero, Isidro Diaz et Teofilo Marin, et il devait declarer et a declare le 
premier passible de la peine prescrite par la dite loi en ce qui concerne les 
emplois et charges honorifiques dont il pouvait jouir au moment de la saisie 
(' ocupacion ') des fonds de la convention Anglaise ; et ce sans prejudice du 
droit des tiers et notamment de ceux du tresor public dont le representant legal 
sera fonde a proceder judiciairement. 

" Cette sentence sera communiquee au Promoteu^r F'scal, aux acciises et a 
leurs defenseurs ; apres quoi elle sera portee devant le tribunal superieur, pour 
etre approuvee, modifiee, ou revoquee, selon la justice. Ainsi par les presentes 
il a ete juge definitivement, rendu sentence, ordonne et sigue. 

" En foi de quoi j'ai signe, 

"Lie. JESUS MARIA DE HERRERA. 
"A. GILBERTO MORENO, Secretaire." 



No. 41. 
Sir C. TVi/Jce to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, August 23, 1861. 

My Lord : On the 14th instant General Ortega returned to this capital with 
the division under his command, amounting to between 3,000 and 4,000 men, 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 317 

after having liad two days' previously a night skirmish at Jalatlaco with the 
forces of General Marquez, who retreated, leaving some guns and'about eighty 
prisoners in the hands of the enemy. 

Ortega, who was heartily tired of the campaign, and anxious to return to this 
city with a view of intriguing against Juarez and getting himself elected presi- 
dent, magnified this affair into au important victory, and declared that the re- 
a'ctionary forces were annihilated and the rebellion put down. So far from this 
beiug the case, however, we have since learnt that Marquez is still at the head 
of 4,000 men, and that Megia, another chief of the same faction, has nearly 
3,000 cavalry and infantry under his orders. These forces are in the centre of 
the comitry, and interrupt all direct communication between this place and the 
interior of the republic. The partisans of Ortega were noisy in their joyful 
demonstrations in honor of this so-called victory, and paraded the streets at 
night with music and a torchlight procession. At about 10 o'.clock a large party 
of them drew up in front of the French legation, where they remained about 
twenty minutes, shouting "Death to the French minister and death to all 
Frenchmen ! " 

In the course of the same evening a shot was fired at M. de Saligny, the 
French minister, whilst he was walking up and down an interior corridor of his 
house. The ball struck and flattened against a pillar near which he was passing, 
fortunately without injuring him, as the fragment of detached stone hit him on 
the right arm. 

On his colleagues beiug made acquainted with this infamous attempt on his 
life,- a meeting of the corps diplomatique was held at Mr. Corwin's, the American 
minister, for the purpose of addressing the government collectively, not only 
vdih reference to this attack on one of the members of their body, but also to 
remonstrate against the demonstration before the French legation having been 
allowed to take place without any interference whatever on the part of the 
police. 

I have the honor to enclose herewith copies of the correspondence which took 
place between the corps diplomatique and this government, Avhich, as usual in 
all cases of outrage, has hitherto led to no result whatever beyond specious 
promises of redress. 

Since this event General Ortega has been sworn in as head of the supreme 
coiu't of justice, which gives him the legal right of succession to the presidency 
in the event of anything happening to Juarez, who, by his utter incapacity, has 
proved himself so unworthy of the post he now holds. A meeting of the con- 
gress has been summoned for the 30th instant, when it is supposed an effort will 
be made to get rid of him, and elect General Ortega in his stead. 
I have, &c., 

0. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosiu'e 1 in No. 41. 



T/ic rc2)resentatives of the United^ States, Belgium, Ecuador, and Prussia, to 

Sen or Zaonacona. 

Mexico, /e 16 ylo2<i(, 1861. 

M. LE SIiNiSTRE : L'envoyc extraordinaire de France viont de nous informer 
que le 14 dc ce mois a 10 bcurcs du soil-, inie bande d'une vingtaine de musiciens, 
accompygu(;e d'un attroup(>ment populaire, dans lequcl so trouA^aicnt plusieurs 
soldats en iinifonne, s'est arret(;e dcvant la porte dc la Ligation do France, en 
poussant les oris de " Mucrau los Franceses ! " " Muera el niinistro de Fiiftncia! " 



318 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

cris qui out clur^ dix a quinze minutes, satis que la police sesoit presentde pour 
faire cesser ce desordre et cet outrage public. 

En portant ce fait a la connaissance de votre excellence, nous devons insister 
sur la necessite q'une enqiiete, severe sur la punition des coupables, et surtout 
celles des agents de police, qui n'out rien fait pour reprimer un pariel exces. 

Nous devons aussi signaler a votre excellence un autre fait qui, san avoir le_ 
meme caractere de publicite, est plus grave encore et aurait pu avoir des conse- 
quences funestes. l)eux heures avant Tattroupement susmentionnee, un coup 
de feu a ete tire sur la personne du ministre de France pendant qu'il se prome- 
nait seul dans la gallerie interieure de son liotel. 

Nous esperons que cette nouvelle tentative d'assassinat mettra enfin un terme 
a I'insouciance avec laqvielle le gouvernement a paru tolerer jusqu'ici les assas- 
sinats d'etrangers, qui se repetent presque journellement sans que les autoritees 
prennent les mesures suffisantes pour leur repression. 
Agreez, &c., 

THOMAS OORWIN. 
E. DE WAGNER. 
FRACO. DE EN PASTOR. 
AUGT. KINT ROODENBEOK. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 41. 

Senor Zamacona to M. de Wagner. 

[Translation.] 

Government House, 

Mexico, August 17, 1861. 

The undersigned receives at tliis moment, wliicli is 4 in tlie evening, the 
note wliicli tlie minister of tlie United States, in conjunction with the represen- 
tatives of Prussia, Belgium, and Ecuador, has been pleased to address to him, 
in which he denounces to him the hostile demonstration which, he says, took 
place at the door of the French legation, and the attempt at assassination 
of which he declares the French minister to have been the object a little while 

before. 

Notwithstanding all the gravity of those acts, and the pubhcity which is at- 
tributed to one of them, the collective note to which this is a reply has been the 
first information relative to this matter received by the undersigned, who cer- 
tainly deplores profoundly, that in treating of events of such gravity the French 
minister should not have employed a more expeditious manner of informing the 
government, and thus have enabled it to investigate immediately into the real 
state of the case, and punish the guilty if it appeared that there were any. The 
information has been given to the government after three days, and in a note 
dra^vn up apparently since yesterday. 

In order to repair this delay, the undersigned has immediately transmitted 
the note which he answers to the ministry of justice, in order that a serious ju- 
dicial investigation may be made concerning the facts which are denounced to 
him. The judge to whom this is intrusted will doubtless share the interest 
felt by the president for the investigation of the truth of Avhat has taken place, 
and it is to be hoped that the result of this measure will not give occasion for 
the imputation to be repeated to the government, that it is indifferent to the per- 
sonal security of foreigners. 

Aud,with reference to this offensive imputation, the undersigned, on seeing it 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 319 

stated in tlie note whicli lie auswejs, has experienced two most bitter impressions : 
one tliat is natural to -whoever feels himself the object of an unjust reproach, 
and the other that which is felt in seeing persons generally benevolent and dis- 
creet serve as a medium for accusations which perhaps have their origin in ill- 
will and hasty judgments. It cannot have escaped the perspicacity of Baron 
de Wagner what superhuman efforts the Mexican government has made, and is 
making, for the re-establishment of peace and order, with which will come the 
remedy for all the evils experienced at the present time, not only by the for- 
eigners resident in the republic, but also by the Mexicans. But the guardian 
spirit of the government is most evident with reference to the former, and in 
proof thereof could be cited the measures that it has taken in consequence of 
the attack upon Captain Aldham, of the English navy, and of the assassination 
of Mr. Beale ; measures which, on account of the suspension of relations with 
the representative of Great Britain, have not been able to be communicated to 
him. 

In answering with this statement the aforesaid collective note of the diplo- 
matic corps, the undersigned, &c., 

MANUEL MA. DE ZAMACONA. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 41. 
M. de Wagner to Senor Zamacona. 

Mexico, ce 21, Aout, 1861. 

Le sotissigne, ministre resident de Prusse, a eu Thonneur de recevoir I'office 
de son excellence M. de Zamacona du 17, relatif aux attentats commis a la le- 
gation de France. 

Le soussigne s'est empresse de s'associer a la demarche collective du 16 de 
ce mois, esperant qu'elle offrirait an gouvemement Mexicain I'occasion de re- 
prouver hautement ces odieux attentats, et d'en poursuivre les auteurs. L'opin- 
ion que le soussigne et les autres membres du corps diplomatique ont enoncde 
sur I'attitude du gouvemement Mexicain a I'egard des nombreux assassinats qui 
se commettent, est bassee sur des faits comme ceu.x qui se trouvent consignes 
sur la feuille ci-jointe. Cette opinion, qui est tres general, se maintiendra taut 
qu'on se borne a ordonner seulement des enquetes sans que les malfaiteurs 
soient, eu effet, poursuivis, attrapds, et punis. 

Le soussigne ignore si les crimes enumeres dans I'annexe ont regu leur chati- 
ment. Si les lois et les juges ne sont pas assez severes, les facultes extraordi- 
naires dii gouvemement doivent y suppleer ; car si les assassins, les malfaiteurs, 
et les voleurs de totite espece restent impunis, les consequences seront aussi fu- 
nestes pour les victimes que pour la republique. 
Le soussigne, &c., 

E. DE WAGNER. 



Enclosure 4 in No. 41. 

Statement of outrages committed upon foreigners in Mexico. 

Assassinat du vice-consul d'Angletcrre, Bodmer, a Tasco. 
Do, du Sicur Richard Rule a Pachuca. 
Do. du Dr. Gibson pres d'Acapulco. 
Do. du Sieur Stephen Bennett a Pachuca. 
Do. du vSieur Beale a Napolcs. 
Do. de Madame Chauricr entre Pachuca et Mexico. 



320 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Attentat avec blessiires mortelles centre le Capitaine Aldliam. 

Do. du Sieur Rojas centre le Consul Allsopp a Tepic. 

Do. contre M. Lettsom, charge d'affaires d'Angleterre, pres de Tacubaya. 

Do. contre M. Burnaud a Cuajimalpa. 
Les atiteures de ces attentats n'ont pas ete punis. 

Attentat avec blessiires mortelles commis dans la rue de San Juan de Letran, 
sur M. Charles Wagner, attache a la legation de Prusse. 

Attentat contre MM. Brecker, pere, fils, et neveii, au moulin de Belen, pres 
de Tacubaya, vols et depredations. 

Attentat et vol commis sur Guillaume Hulver shorn dans la rue deCapiichinas 
par trois voleurs a clieval. 

Attentat et enlevement du Sieur Heidlmann pres de Ciiernavaca. 

Attaque de la diligence et vol du ministre de Prusse pres d'Ayotla et du 
Peiion. 

Attaque nocturne contre le brasseur Striittmayer pres d'Alameda. 

On ignore le resultat des enquetes, et si les malfaiteurs on ete punis. 

Attentats commis contre des Francais e??. 1861. 

Louis G-audry, marchand tailleur a Mexico, rue San Francisco, fut assailli par 
plusieurs bandits devant la porte de son habitation, et blesse d'un coup de 
poignard, le Janvier, 1861. 

Pran9ois' Barateigt, cordonnier a Mexico, fut assailli a 7 heures du soir dans 
la rue de la Providence par six hommes. II fut blesse d'un coup de poignard, 
puis depouille meme d'une partie de ses vetements, 21 Janvier. 

Louis Majerus, petit marchand, alors etabli a Tacubaya. Ayant eii affaire 
a Piiebla dans la fin de Janvier, il y fut assassine et depouille dans la rue le 
second jour de son arrivee dans cette ville. La police I'ayant ramasse baigne 
dans son sang, il supplia les agents de le transporter a son logement, ou il se 
serait fait soigner. La loi, lui repondit-on, exigeat qii'il allat en prison pour etre in- 
terroge et de la a I'hopital. Tandis que le pauvre blesse etait ainsi traine comme 
piece de conviction d'un crime demeiire impuni, la chambre d'auberge dans la- 
qiielle il avait laisse ses bagages fut completement devalisee, et il a fallu que 
ses amis de Puebla lui fournisseut du linge,- des habits, et de I'argeut pour se 
rendre a son domicile. 

Ajoutons que le juge qui fut charge de I'instruction de cette affaire s'est con- 
stammeut refuse a remettre a Majerus, ni au vice-consul de France, aucun docu- 
ment constatant les faits, notoires a Puebla. 

En Fevrier les Sieiirs Augustin Coffe et Alexandre Bordemann furent mal- 
traites, blesses et injustement emprisonnes par les autorites de Minatillon. Ces 
sevices durerent jusqu'au 22 Avril, qu'un batiment de guerre viut les prendre 
pour les mener a Vera Cruz. 

Pierre Maiirel, hotelier a Rio Frio, puis au Palmas, sur la route de Puebla, a 
ete deux fois pille, puis enleve par des brigands, en Janvier et Avril. 

Pierre Lement, assassine le 11 Mars a Pinar, entrp Puebla et Perote, au lieu 
ou deux jours aiiparavant avait ete tue Mr. Yorkc. 

Louis Mathieu Bonhomme, proprietaire rural, fut assassine a Velmonte, sin- la 
route de Duraugo, a dix-huit lieues de cette ville, le 3 Avril. 

Alexis Maurice, conducteur de charriots, a ete enleve, maltraite, et plusieurs 
fois mis a rauQon par des brigands en Avril, Juiu, et Juillet. 

Lucien Fix, administrateiir d'une hacienda de M. de la Torre, dans le terri- 
toire d'lturbide, enleve le 18 Avril par des brigands, et relache moyennant 
ran^on apres des jours de souffi-ances. 

Madame Eugenie Maison, assassine pres Cordova le 12 Mars et decedee le 
21 Avril. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 321 

Pierre Lacoste, commer^ant, assassine a Rosas, sur la route cle Queretaro a 
Mexico, a dix-huit lieiies de la capitale, le 9 Mai, 

Auguste Firmin Davesue, maitre meunier, assassine le 18 Mai, dans le moulin 
du Battaut a trois lieues de Mexico. Les assassins, qui furent meme reconnus 
et designes a la justice, se promenent tranquillement dans le pays, et y gaspil- 
lent en paix le produit du crime, car ils ont du se partager 5,000 a 6,000 piastres. 

Benjamin Jaffre, contre-maitre au moulin du Battant, assailli par les brigands 
qui voulm-ent tuer Davesne ; il fut blesse a la tete de plusieurs coups de crosse 
et laisse sans connaissance le 18 Mai. Aujourd'lmi gueri de ses blessures, 

Jean Baptiste Delaporte, assassine a Otumbilla, a buit lieues de Mexico, le 
2 Aout. Les assassins, qui sont parfaitement connus et tons voleurs de profes- 
sion, n'ont point ete inquietes jusqu'ici. 

Louis Cruerrier, jeuue artisan demeurant a Mexico, fut enleve dans le village 
de San Aiitonio, le 26 Juin. Apres avoir ete grievement blesse par les brigands 
armes qui I'avaient trouve sur la route, et les avoir peniblement suivis pendant 
une journee et une nuit, il a pu s'ecbapper et rejoindre sa famille. 

Jean Caire, proprietaire rural, a ete enleve sur sa propriete de Salazar, le 2 
Juin. Relacbe moyennant ran^on. 

Louis Acbo, fils, enleve de I'hacienda de son pere, pres Puebla en Juin. Re- 
lacbe moyeunant $1,000. 

Jaques Londais, commer^ant, attaque et blesse par des brigands dans la rue 
de San Clara, le 21 Juillet. 

Joseph Louis Tbinesse, tailleur, depouille et roue de coups par des soldats 
du gouveruement, a un quart de lieue de Ouernavaca, le 24 Juillet. 

Paul Dairo, marcband colporteur, assassine a Huicbilaque a deux lieues de 
Ouernavaca, le 2 Aout. 

Jaques Bernard, commerQant, attaque par quatre soldats dans la rue de Zuleta, 
blesse de coups de sabre et vole, le 28 Juillet. 

Benoit Deffis, negociaut a Temascaltepec, enleve par des soldats dits pro- 
nonces, emprisonne, maltraite de toute fa9on, et relacbe apres trois joui'S de 
souffrance, et sa maison pillee, le 28 Juillet. 

Pierre Dubart, seul employe de la maison Ecbenique, de Temascaltepec, 
enlevd et traite conune M. Deffis, et la maison egalemeut pillee par les memes, 
le 28 Juillet. 

Henri HanvUle, mineur a Temascaltepec, se trouvant absent le 28 Juillet a 
^te pUle. 

Adrien Daste, directeur de mines, a eu ses cbevaux volees. 

Auguste Daussart, brasseur, a ete attaque par plusieurs bandits, et a 6t6 blessd 
dans rue San Francisco, le 11 Aout. 

Joseph Agand, maitre meunier, au moulin del Sacono, commune de Tlalma- 
nalco, pres de Obalco. Le 17 Aout courant dix bommes de la garde de surete 
de Cbalco sont venus demander les ecuries du moulin pour I'usage de la petite 
garnison. Apres s'etre introduits dans I'etablissement sous ce pretexte, et avoir 
place des sentinelles au dehors, ils ont trouve un autre pretexte pour attirer le 
Sieur Agand et quelques autres employes dans la chapelle du moulin, ou ils les 
ont enfermes. Apres quoi ils ont pille le moulin, sans oublier les effets persoaf- 
nels du Sieur Agand et des domestiques. Cinq des soldats bandits ont ete 
reconnus par I'alcalde de Tlalmanalco, qui les a designes au prdffit, mais inutile- 
ment. 

Lc 18 Aout courant, M. Victor Prudhorame, industriel fort inofiPensif de 
Mexico, a ete bratalement frappe au visage par un lieutenant colonel qui passa 
rapidement a cote de lui un pistolet a la main, lancant en meme temps I'epithete 
de "estrangero." 

n. Ex. Doc. 100 21 



322 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 42. 
Sir C. WyJce to Lord J. Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, August 24, 1861. 

I have the honor to enclose translation of a decree isstied the night before 
last by this government, imposing a tax of 1 per cent, on all capital exceeding 
2,000 dollars, to be paid to the government as follows : One-third on the day- 
following the publication of the decree, another at the end of eight days, and 
the remaining third at the expiration of a fortnight. Those persons not comply- 
ing with these stipulations are to be punished by fines of 50 per cent, on such 
contributions. Nothing can possibly be more arbitrary or unjust than this, as 
■ many persons during the whole of yesterday remained in ignorance that such a 
. decree had been published and placarded during the night at the corners of two 
or three of the principal streets of the capital. This tax at first was only to 
be levied within the district of Mexico, but by an additional decree, j)ublished 
yesterday, I hear it is to be le\ded on the capital, wherever it may be, of all 
.inhabitants of the district whose fortunes may exceed the sum mentioned. 

On this being known, the British merchants here addressed a letter to me on 
,the subject, which I have the honor to enclose, together with my reply thereto. 

Were this principle once admitted, the door would be open to all sorts of 
illegal exactions on the part of a government so rapacious and utterly unprinci- 
pled as this. Finding that their decree of the 17th ultimo, suspending the con- 
vention payments, did not produce as much as they expected, they are now de- 
.termined to obtain funds by forced contributions, for this tax is nothing else 
;under another form. I was glad to find that all my colleagues here took the 
same view of the case as I did, and recommended their countrymen respectively 
to resist the payment of this impost, except on compulsion and under protest. 
Mr. Corwin, the United States minister, alone refrained from doing so, and al- 
though urged by us, in a meeting which took place to-day at his house, to join 
the Prussian minister and the charges d'affaires of Belgium and Ecuador in re- 
monstrating with the government on the injustice of this measure, we could not 
persuade him to do so, although he must be aware that had he acted with us, 
.this government would never dare, in their present precarious position, to set at 
rdefiance the remonstrances of the whole corps diplomatique. 

Baron Wagner, the Prussian minister, yesterday called on Senor Zamacona, 
•and recommended him at once to withdraw the decree, or not to apply it to 
foreigners resident here, as he knew that, with the exception of the Americans, 
'they had all been recommended by their representatives only to pay the tax on 
tcompulsion and under protest. 

The government again urges necessity as their excuse, saymg that, as the 
commercial body of Mexico would not advance them the sum of 400,000 dollars 
a month for their expenses, on the guarantee of the maritime custom-houses, an 
offer which they had made and which had been refused, they had no other alter- 
native but to do what they have done. 

If one once acknowledges their right to tax capital for 1 per cent., they may, 
when next in want of money, levy 10, 15, or 20 per cent, on it, and thus ruin 
the whole commercial body here. 

Were the money thus obtained spent in restoring order, or in affording pro- 
tection to the lives and properties of those so taxed, there would be some excuse 
for BO arbitrary a measure ; but, instead of this, the disorder reigning here be- 
comes every day greater, whilst many of the smaller shopkeepers are utterly 
bankrupt from the paralyzation of all trade. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 323 

Under these circumstances, I trust your lordsliip will approve of tlie advice 
I liave given to tlie English merchants here, and the more so, as it is in strict 
accordance with the instructions issued to my predecessors when a similar tax 
was imposed by the former government. 



Enclosure 1 in No. 42. 

Decree. 

[Traduction.] 



Le citoyen Juan Jose Baz, gouverneur du district fdddral, a ses habitants 
faisons savoir: 

Qu'il m'a ete adresse, par le ministere des finances et du credit public, le 
decret suivant: 

Le citoyen Benito Juarez, president constitutionnel des etats-unis Mexicans, 
a leurs habitants faisons savoir : 

Qu'en vertu des facultes que concede au gouverfiement le decret du 4 Juin 
dernier, j'ai decrete ce qui suit: 

Article uniqxie. — II est etabli, dans le district, une contribution de un pour 
cent sur les capitaux qui excedent $2,000; elle sera payable de la maniere 
suivante, a la direction generale des contributions directes : un tiers le jom' qui 
suivra la publication du. present decret, un autre tiers dans les huit jours, et le 
dernier tiers dans les quinze jours. 

De ceux qui ne verseront pas leurs cotes dans les delais exprime's, on les 
exigera, au moyen de la faculte economico-coactive, avec les surcharges que fixent 
les lois en vigeur. 

Pourquoi j 'ordonne, &c. 

Donne au Palais National, a Mexico, le 21 Aout, 1861. 

BENITO JUAEEZ. 

Au citoyen Jose H. Nunez, 

Secretaire d'Etat et des Finances et du Credit Pichlic. 

Et je vous le transmets pour son accomplissement. 

Dieu et liberte ! 

Mexico, le 21 Aout, 1861. 

JOSE H. NUNEZ. 
Au citoyen Gouverneur du District. 

Et pour qu'il arrive a la connaissance de tons j 'ordonne qu'on I'imprime, qu'on 
le public, «&c. 

Mexico, le 22 Aout, 1861. 

JUAN JOSE BAZ. 

JOSE M. DEL CASTILLO VELASOO, 

Secretaire. 



324 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Enclosure 2 in No. 42. 
Messrs. Graham, Geaves 8f Co., and otiiers, to Sir C. Wyke. 

Mexico, August 23, 1861. 

Sir : We Tbeg to call your attention to a decree whicli has appeared in some 
of the papers this morning, by which a contribution of 1 per cent, is imposed 
upon all capitals exceeding $2,000. 

At a time when we had great hopes that reparation would be demanded by 
her Majesty's government for similar exactions under the late administration, we 
cannot but express our surprise at the present illegal demand of the Mexican 
government ; but we consider that the form of the present decree may probably 
be understood to exclude foreigners. You will observe by the annexed copy of 
the decree in question that the 1 per cent, is to be levied in the federal district 
only, and does not therefore come under the denomination of the general taxa- 
tion of the country to which we are bound to contribute. 

The first payment of one-third of tbe amou.nt is to be paid in this very day, 
amder the heaviest penalties in case of delay, and we therefore beg that you will 
favor us with your opinion as to whether we are obliged to contribute to a sys- 
tem of taxation against which so may objections have already been raised by 
her Majesty's legation on previous occasions, and which in the present case ap- 
pears clearly most unjust, both on account bf its partial action and of the illegal 
principle, now renewed, of imposing forced loans upon us at the will of govern- 
ment, under the false name of taxes. 

We beg to add that the fixed taxes under a very heavy assessment have 
already been exacted from us in advance, and are paid up to the 31st of De- 
cember npxt. Should the right of government be now admitted to the present 
capital tax, our past experience proves that we are sure to be called upon every 
few days for further contributions, which, as we all know, are purely req^uned for 
war purposes. 

We have, &c., 

GRAHAM, GEAVES & Co., 

And others. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 42. 

Sir C. WyTce to Messrs. Graham, Geaves Sf Co., and others. 

Mexico, Avgust 23, 1861. 
Gentlemen: In reply to your communication bearing this day's date, asking 
my opinion as to whether you are obliged to pay the new tax of 1 per cent, on capi- 
tal, against the principle of which, when similar taxes were formerly levied, her 
Majesty's legation, you say, had protested; I would recommend you only to pay 
said tax on compulsion and under protest, after duly notifying the same to those 
persons authorized to levy it. 
I am, &c., 

C. LElSrt^OX WYKE. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 325 

No. 43. 
Sir C. Wyhe to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, August 26, 1861. 

My Lord : Tlie question of the Britisli convention has been brought under 
the consideration of her Majesty's government so frequently, and ahvays, hitherto, 
as a cause of complaint on the part of those interested in it, that I regret ex- 
cessively again to recur to the subject. 

I am compelled, however, to do so on the present occasion, not only because 
the Mexican government have of late publicly attacked the convention, but be- 
cause there are certain matters of importance connected with it which require, I 
consider, some explanation on my part, in order to clear up the doubts which 
have been and still are entertained with respect to the origin and management of 
this fund. 

Before I proceed to the discussion of this now complicated question, I would 
mention that, in order to avoid as much as possible a continued repetition of 
figures in the body of this despatch, I have had drawn up in the mission the enclosed 
memorandum, which I trust may be found useful for purposes of reference, if at 
any future period the Mexican government or private individuals carry their 
complaints and accusations directly before the foreign office. 

I will now endeavor to trace the history of the convention from its commence- 
ment. In 1842 her Majesty's minister at Mexico, Mr. Pakenham, concluded a 
diplomatic arrangement for the payment of certain recognized claims; and in 
1851 it was evident that, so far from having carried out this arrangement, the 
Mexican government had incurred additional liabilities, which they were equally 
unable to meet, and which rendered a fresh arrangement of some sort absolutely 
necessary. 

Hence it was that Mr. Doyle, on the 4th of December, 1851, signed the con- 
vention which has given rise to so many and such needless difficulties, and in 
which were included as well the claims under the Pakenham convention as other- 
credits which had been severally recognized by the British and Mexican gov- 
verments. 

The creditors met at the national treasury, and, after the usual preliminaries 
on both sides, it was agreed that the claims, amounting to $4,984,914, should be 
treated as a consolidated fund, to be paid off upon the generally received princi- 
ples of debtor and creditor; that is to say, the government obliged themselves 
to pay interest on this consolidated fund at the rate of 3 per cent, per annum, 
with a sinking fund of 5 per cent. ; it being further stipulated that five years 
after the ratification of the convention the interest was to be raised to 4 per 
cent., and the sinking fund to 6 per cent. 

For this purpose the Mexican government were supposed — I say supposed, 
for reasons which will hereafter appear, — to mortgage to us 12 per cent, per an- 
num of their entire customs revenue, upon the condition that if this assignment 
of 12 per cent, more than sufficed for the interest and sinking fund, the commis- 
sioner appointed by the creditors for receiving their money was to return to the 
treasury any surplus, whereas in the contrary case, the treasury was to meet 
any deficit by the first drafts they received from any of their maritime custom- 
ho uses. 

The manner in which this 12 per cent, of import duties was mortgaged to us 
I will explain in its proper place, for it has seriously afiected us, and, indeed, 
may be said to have been the origin of all subsequent troubles. 

It so happened, to continue my narrative, that at the end of the first year, 
i. c, in December, of 1852, the stipulated custom-house assignments were not 
forthcoming, consequently it became necessary to call upon government to fulfil 



326 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

tlieir engagements upon this point ; and on tte 27tli of November of tlie same 
year a sub-convention (copy of which is enclosed herewith, as meriting your 
lordship's attention) was signed by Mr. Doyle, whereby a further custom-house 
assignment of 3 per cent, was set aside solely for paying this deficit, to cease 
so soon as the deficit was made good. 

To all intents and purposes, however, the original assignment of 12 per cent, 
now became 15 per cent, permanently, because, although this increase of 3 per 
cent, was originally only meant to cover a particular class of arrears, it never 
did so; on the contrary, arrears went on accumulating instead of diminishing, 
more assignments were asked for and granted, and ultimately we were sup- 
posed to have mortgaged to us 29 per cent, of import duties, wherewith to satisfy 
interest and sinking fund, the interest, by an arrangement made by Mr. Otway, 
having been increased from 4 to 6 per cent., while the sinking fund remained, 
as stipulated in the 5th article of the original convention, at 6 per cent, per 
annum. 

Such is the history of the British convention ; and it will now be my duty 
to explain, as far as may be, the complications and difficulties which have en- 
sued, and which in many cases could, and most certainly should, have been 
avoided. 

First in the list of complainants come the government themselves, who were 
the other contracting party to the Doyle convention, and they begin by attack- 
ing the very elements of the convention, which they allege to be suppositious, 
and lay especial stress upon the introduction into the an-angement of what are 
commonly known as the " tobacco bonds." 

To avoid entering here into a lengthy and unnecessary discussion upon a 
question which for many years occupied the attention of her Majesty's govern- 
ment, I will simply state, though for the sake of reference I beg to enclose a 
short account of this particular grievance, that Messrs. Martinez del Rio, who 
are naturalized British subjects, and the present agents of the convention, be- 
came possessors, imder a guarantee from the supreme government, of certain of 
these "tobacco bonds," to the amount of about $2,500,000. Their tenure 
thereof had been sanctioned by her Majesty's government, and when afterwards 
the Mexican government, in spite of their guarantee, attempted to dispute the 
right of tenure, Mr. Doyle received positive instructions from home to support 
Messrs. Martinez, and to insist upon justice being done to them. A plan of 
settlement was proposed, but though partly initiated by the Mexican govern- 
ment, never canied into effect. 

This happened in 1849, and it seemed only naturalthat two years later what 
had now assumed the character of a claim, and might almost be said to have 
formed a convention of itself, should be admitted into the new compact con- 
cluded by Mr. Doyle in 1851. 

This is the first objection to the convention, and I cannot help thinking that 
it must be looked upon as perfectly groundless. 

Next in order follow the complaints raised by certain private individuals who, 
either after the fashion of a Mr. Grant, one of convention bondholders, attack 
the convention generally, or like Messrs. Bourdillon and Moran, (the latter being 
in no way connected with the convention of that name to which I shall have 
occasion to refer,) paid agents for claims not included in the convention, persist 
in affirming that their clients' interests have been damaged by the illegitimate 
uses to which the convention custom-house assignments have been turned. 

In 1852, as your lordship will have observed, a special increase of 3 per cent. 
on the customs revenue was allotted to pay off a particular deficit, with the 
proviso that it was to cease as soon as the deficit was made good. A Mr. Dal- 
ton, whose case has been before the foreign office since 1857, had, I believe, 
obtained from the Mexican government the reversion of this 3 per cent, when- 
ever it again became government property, and in 1860 his agents, Messrs. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 327 

Bourdillon and Moran, did tlieir utmost to procure tliis reversion, upon tlie 
ground tliat tlie original object for wliicli tlie 3 per cent, of import duties was 
assigned had long ago been accomplislied, and that the convention had no 
further right to it. 

The Mexican government were onlj too glad to seize such an opportunity, 
and eagerly acquiesced in the assertion that the 3 per cent, had reverted to 
them, upon what plea I cannot say, for, so far from laying any claim to it, they 
had themselves sanctioned its running on as part and parcel of the convention 
custom-house assignments, had even of their own free-will added a something 
to it, as "will be seem by article 2 of Mr Otway's convention, which forms en- 
closure No. 4 of this despatch, and never thought of its reversion until Messrs, 
Bourdillon and Moran, Mr. Dalton's agents, appeared on the stage in 1860. 

Be this, however, as it may, the enclosed document will, I feel assured, set 
the matter to rights ; for thereby and subsequent, be it remarked, to the appli- 
cation of Mr. Dalton's agents it becomes evident that this person could in no 
way interfere with the British convention, and, indeed, I know that he himself 
had proposed to the Mexican government a new arrangement for the payment 
of what was owing to him. 

At any rate, however, our priority of claim to this said 3 per cent, cannot be 
questioned, for it is proved (memorandum, paper D) that notwithstanding the 
gradual, though in reality merely nominal, increase of our custom-house assign- 
ments from 12 to 29 per cent., not even the original assignment of 12 per cent, 
has ever yet been paid up. 

If, then, we have never received in fall the first assignment of all, it surely 
cannot be illogical to infer that we have not obtained anything over and above 
that first assignment, and consequently that, inasmuch as the above-mentioned 
additional assignment has never yet been paid, it cannot possibly have fulfilled 
the object for which it was granted. 

There is one point which both the Mexican government and these private 
individuals appear to have overlooked when attacking the convention; they do 
not remember that, be the elements of a convention or compact what they may, 
they cannot suffer change for good or bad, when once that convention or com- 
pact has been ratified, unless it be with the full consent of both contracting par- 
ties ; and it ill becomes any Englishman, especially at the present moment, to 
attempt to overthrow a diplomatic arrangement which had obtained the sanction 
and support of his government, and when the very stipulations thereof compen- 
sate him, as in the case of Mr. Grant, for losses which would never have been 
made good to him but for the intervention of her Majesty's legation. 

I now come to the real and most serious difficulty connected with this con- 
vention, and would that its solution were simpler; yet I am at a loss to conceive 
how the actual error which led to this difficulty escaped the observation of my 
predecessors, or was allowed to be perpetuated up to the present date by the 
very agents of the fund, whose duty it most certainly was to have had it rectified. 

It so happened that two days after the ratification of Mr. Doyle's convention, 
i. e., on the 6th of December, 1861, Senor Sayas, the Spanish minister in Mex- 
ico, signed on behalf of some of his countrymen a convention almost identical 
with our own. The interest on the debt thereby recognized Avas the same, the 
sinking fund the same, and it was equally stipulated in both conventions that a 
ccrtaia government order, which was to authorize the custom-hoxise to set aside 
the proper proportion of custom-house assignments for the payment of the said 
interest and sinking fund, " should be considered as having been inserted in and 
as foi-ming part" of the convention for which it was intended. 

The Sayas or, as it is generally called, the Padre Moran convention, was only 
for a sum of $983,000, whereas, as I have already stated, ours represented 
$4,984,914, yet, strange to say, the government order, which was to be looked 
upon as quite as sacred as any part of either convention, was one and the same 



328 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

in eacli case. This order sliall, however, speak for itself; and yonr lordsliip 
will observe tliat the 12 per cent, of import duties, which, as I stated above, was 
supposed to have been mortgaged to us, is by- the order set aside for the purpose 
of satisfying the conditions of both the Padre Moran and the British conven- 
tions ; no division of the 12 per cent, is made therein, no proper proportion 
thereof is defined, the 12 per cent, stands there as much the property of the one 
as of the other convention. 

Now, even supposing, for the sake of argument, that the Mexican government 
had intended there should be but one order, and that 12 per cent, of the import 
, duties was to suiSce for paying the interest and sinking fund of both conven- 
tions, one might have expected to discover in the order some clear definition of 
the proportion that the 12 per cent, was to bear to each convention. 

It was, however, otherwise, and the consequence is that our own and the 
Spanish convention have, as it were, been merged into one. The agencies of 
the two conventions, which once were separate, have ceased to be so. Messrs. 
Martinez del Rio from the very beginning were recognized as the sole agents for 
both, though, in point of fact, that of Padre Moran, as a Spanish convention, 
became a dead letter, and, to all intents and purposes, might as well have never 
existed, since all applications to this legation for support and protection have 
been made by Messrs. Martinez del Eio ia their capacity as agents for the British 
convention. 

Up till now we have been allowed to slumber on in the full assurance that the 
original, as well as every additional custom-house assignment was ours. Such, 
however, has not been the case ; from 1851 to 1860 her Majesty's government, 
this legation, and British ships-of-war, have been laboring on behalf not only of 
British but of Spanish interests, for out of every assignment we have received, 
with the exception of that obtained by Captain Aldham, a sixth part has regu- 
larly been handed over by Messrs. Martinez del Rio to the sister convention, 
while no violation of contract has ever taken place ; but we, and we alone, have 
been appealed to by them for redress, and it was not until early in 1861 that 
Messrs. Martinez del Rio breathed a word that could imply the fact of their 
having thus practically and systematically amalgamated the two conventions. 
Why, or wherefore, they should have made an exception to their general line of 
conduct in the case of the Aldham convention I am unable to say. It is suffi- 
cient that they did so, and it appears to me that the letter, copy of which I 
herewith enclose, addressed by them to Mr.Mathew, in reference to this subject, 
is proof enough that a doubt must always have existed in their minds as to the 
propriety of claiming British protection for a convention with which we had 
nothing in the world to do. 

It is useless for these gentlemen to assert that in issuing one order the Mexi- 
can government intended the two conventions to draw from one and the same 
fund, that the proportion of the custom-house assignments to those conventions 
was naturally in the ratio of the two debts, and that consequently their conduct 
can be justified. 

If such, indeed, was the intention of the Mexican government, surely it could 
not also have been then intention to make one convention responsible for what 
belonged to another convention, and that other convention of a totally different 
nationality. This would have been absurd, and I fear, therefore, that but one 
construction can be put upon the whole affair ; the order on the custom-houses 
was simply a piece of trickery on the part of the Mexican government, nobody 
took the trouble to counteract it, and we alone have been the dupes to our own 
prejudice, but to the profit of others. 

There is one fact which cannot be disputed. A certain order, the very es- 
sence, if I may use the expression, of both conventions, but which does not 
exist at the time of ratification, becomes by anticipation an actual part of both. 
By that order, not a sej^arate one, be it remarked, for each convention, 12 per 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. ^ 329 

cent, of import duties is to be set apart for satisfying tlie demands of botli con- 
ventions ; consequently there enters an idea of partition, tlie entire 12 per cent, 
being the sole property of neither convention : we, therefore, have no right to 
the whole, nor has the Spanish convention any right to it, but we have been 
made responsible for the whole, and our agents have applied to ns for protection 
when the whole was not given to us ; moreover, Mr. Doyle in his snb-convention 
states positively that the whole is onrs in virtue of the actual convention, while 
the actual convention proves it is not ours by article IV, for that article and the 
original custom-house orders are, I might almost say, synonymous terms, and 
the latter distinctly states that it is not ours. 

The 12 per cent, of import duties then is ours, and is not ours : it is ours, 
because we have claimed it and our claim has not been questioned ; it is not ours, 
because whenever it has been obtained a sixth part has always been taken away 
from us. 

It is now perhaps too late to remedy the evil that has been done, but hence- 
forward it will be our fault if Spain does not look after Spanish, and England 
after English interests, whenever the moment arrives for reinstating the conven- 
tions in the position they lost through the government decree of the 17th ultimo, 
which amongst other payments suspended those belonging to diplomatic 
arrangements. 

Far be it from me to make any direct accusation against those who have been 
principally to blame in this matter, but I cannot acquit Messrs. Martinez del 
Rio of great and culpable negligence. As agents of the British convention fund 
they ought to have known that whatever may have been the object of the 
Mexican government in issuing but one custom-house order for two conventions, 
it never could have been intended that the British legation alone was to see that 
order carried out, to the prejudice of its own and the profit of Spanish interests; 
it was their bounden duty to have called the attention of the legation to the 
existing state of affairs, and they left that duty undone. ^ 

I need not, of course, assure your lordship that in thus accusing Messrs. 
Martinez del Rio of great negligence, I have no intention or wish whatever to 
cast a slur upon their character as honorable men : still I feel that, in the inter- 
ests of all parties concerned, it' would be much better, for obvious reasons, to 
place the agency in other hands ; and I do not think I can recommend to your 
lordship a better or fitter person to succeed Messrs. Martinez del Rio than Mr. 
Consul Glennie, who is now auditor of the fund, and who, I feel sure, has the 
esteem of all those who are connected therewith. It appears to me, too, that it 
would be more becoming for the convention to have its agency in our consulate, 
and I cannot help thinking that such an appointment as the one I have now the 
honor of j)roposiDg to your lordship would tend greatly to diminish the existing 
causes of complaint. 

I have only now further to call your lordship's attention to the fact that there 
are but few Englishmen holders of convention stock at the present time ; it has 
passed on 'change into other hands, principally Mexican, and I have, for pur- 
poses of reference, accompanied my memorandum on the convention with a list 
of those who were bondholders when the first dividend took place, as well as of 
those who are now holders of convention stock ; and it is worthy of remark, 
that even during the first six months after the ratification of the Doyle compact, 
bonds were eagerly bought up in the money market, so great was at that time 
the confidence inspired by an agreement for the due fulfilment of which Great 
Britain Avas supposed to be a responsible party. 

Such, my lord, is the account of the British convention, pafet and present; its 
length may, perhaps, seem to require some apology on my part. Had I, how- 
ever, curtailed it, I much fear I should have failed in the original object I had in 
view, and that so far from being useful at a future period for reference, this 



330 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

despatcli and its enclosures would merely have added to the difficulties con- 
nected with the convention. 

While, then, I sincerely trust that, in its present state, this will not be found to 
be the case, may I request your lordship, should my proposals meet with your 
approbation, to be good enough to send me such instructions as will admit of 
immediate action, not only as regards the future agency of the British convention, 
but also as regards the restoration of the Spanish convention to the protection 
of its rightful owners ? 

Everything connected with the so-called British convention has got into such 
a tangle of confusion, that it would have been impossible for me to have under- 
stood the actual state of the case without the assistance of Mr. Walsham, whose 
experience here, joined to the untiring assiduity he has displayed in elucidating 
the whole question, and putting the numerous enclosures of this despatch into 
proper order, have been of the greatest service in enabling me to transmit a 
statement which I hope may hereafter prove useful for reference, whenever the 
subject of this convention and its numerous complications shall again be brought 
under the notice of the foreign office. 
I am, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 1 in No. 43, 

Memorandum on the British convention. 

On the 15th of October, 1842, Mr. Pakenham signed a convention with the 
Mexican government, in which it was stipulated that certain recognized claims, 
amounting to about $250,000, should be formed into a consolidated fund,^to be 
paid off, capital and interest, by a percentage on the import duties at the mari- 
time custom-houses of Vera Cruz and Tampico. 

This convention was not carried out by the Mexican government ; and on the 
4th of December, 1851, Mr. Doyle signed a fresh one, in which not only the 
claims under the Pakenham convention, (see annexed paper A,) but others, 
which had been recognized by both the English and Mexican governments, and 
had indeed formed separate diplomatic an-angements, were included, (see papers 
B and 0.) 

By Mr. Doyle's convention the claims, amounting to $4,984,914, were likewise 
formed into a consolidated fund, the Mexican government obliging itself to pay 
thereupon 5 per cent, as sinking fund, and 3 per cent, as interest, until the debt 
should be paid off. 

To meet this 5 per cent, and 3 per cent., it was agreed that a certain portion 
of the annual customs revenue should be set apart, and half-yearly dividends 
take place; and it was further stipulated that in 1857 the sinking fund should 
be raised to 6 per cent., and the interest to 4 per cent. 

Now it so happened, that two days after Mr. Doyle had signed his convention, 
Seiior Sayas, Spanish minister in Mexico, also signed a convention on behalf of 
some Philippine missionaries, which is generally known as the " Padre Moran" 
convention, and which, singularly enough, was made upon exactly the same 
basis as our own. Its consolidated fund was $983,000, the sinking fund 5 per. 
cent., and the interest 3 per cent. 

This 5 per cent, and 3 per cent, were to be increased respectively to 6 per 
cent, and 4 per cent, at a stated period, and to be satisfied, as in our case, by 
yearly custom-house assignments, whenever it could be found out what amount 
of assignment would be necessary. 

Instead, however, of fixing this amount at the time of ratification, the Mexi- 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 331 

can government only did so some two months afterwards by a cixstom-lionse order 
setting apart 12 per cent, of import duties for paying the sinking fund and 
interest of both conventions, but unfortunately without specifying in what pro- 
portion this 12 per cent, was to be made. 

At first each convention had its own agent in Mexico, but later on Messrs. 
Martinez del Eio, naturalized British subjects, took charge of both, and from 
that time it would seem the Padre Moran convention lost its nationality; for we, 
though until now unaware of the fact, have always collected its portion of 
custom-house assignments, as will hereafter appear. 

The original custom-house assignment for both conventions was 12 per cent. 
At the end of 1852 it had not been paid, and to meet the deficit the Mexican 
government assigned an additional 3 per cent, until it should be made good; but 
this 3 per cent, had simply reference to the English part of the deficit, as ap- 
pears from Mr. Doyle's sub-convention (forming enclosure No. 3 in the despatch,) 
for there is no evidence that any steps were taken in this direction by the 
Spanish representative; yet as Messrs. Martinez del Rio had previously, on their 
own responsibility, apportioned to the Padre Moran convention a sixth part of 
what the custom-house did pay in 1852, so also they now riiade over a sixth 
part of the additional 3 per cent. 

In 1852, therefore, the state of the conventions was — 

British convention. — Sinking fund, 5 per cent.; interest, 3 per cent.; custom- 
house assignment, 12 per cent., and 3 per cent, for arrears. 

Padre Moran convention. — Sinking fund, 5 per cent.; interest, 3 per cent.; 
custom-house assignment, 12 per cent., and 3 per cent, for arrears. 

In 1857, the interest and sinking fund of both conventions became, as origi- 
nally stipulated therein, sinking fund, 6 per cent.; interest, 4 per cent.; the only 
difference in the custom-house assignment being that the 3 per cent., originally 
intended to pay off a particular class of arrears, was now merged into the body 
of assignments, which therefore stood at 15 per cent. 

In 1858 the Mexican government, apparently of their own free will, increased 
this 15 per cent, to 16 per cent., and Mr. Otway, in the same year, had the 
interest of the, British convention raised to 6 per cent. 

Thus, at this period, the following was the progress made in both conventions : 

British convention. — Sinking fund, 6 per cent.; interest, 6 per cent.; custom- 
house assignment, 16 per cent. 

Padre Moran convention. — Sinking fund, 6 per cent.; interest, 4 per cent.; 
custom-house assig-nmeut, 16 per cent. 

In 1859 the arrears on the sinking fund had accumulated to $1,800,000, and 
it was then that Captain Dunlop, senior naval officer in the Gulf of Mexico, 
obtained an additional 8 per cent, of import duties; and in 1860, when the 
custom-houses of Vera Cruz and Tampico had seized assignments to the amount 
of $350,000, Captain Aldham, who had succeeded Captain Dunlop, made a 
further convention, by which 5 per cent, more of import duties was to be set 
aside, though only in the custom-houses of Vera Cruz and Tamj)ico. Both the 
8 per cent, of Captain Dunlop and the 5 per cent, of Captain Aldham were to 
cease as soon as they had respectively satisfied the $1,800,000 arrears, and 
$350,000 ("occupation") above referred to. It is certain that Captain Aldham's 
5 per cent, was upon all import duties from all vessels at the ports of Vera 
Cruz and Tampico. The 8 per cent., however, of Captain Dunlop would appear 
to refer to the custom-houses generally, and to have been upon all import duties 
from all except French vessels. 

Both the 8 per cent, and the 5 per cent, were solely for the specific object 
above referred to, and were to cease directly that object was attained, so that 
the regular custom-house assignment upon all import duties from all A-essels was, 
as has been stated, only 16 per cent.; and yet if the statement (see paper D) 



332 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



made by Messrs. Martinez del Rio he correct, even tlie original assignment of 12 
per cent, has never been paid, mncb less that of 16 per cent. 

Between 1852 and 1861 the proper amonnt of interest had been paid upon 
the consolidated fund of the British convention, viz: $1,744,604 14, and nearly 
the proper amount of interest upon the consolidated fund of the Padre Moran 
convention, viz: $320,197 99, instead of $344,961 50; (see papers E and F,) 
whereas the sinking fund of the two conventions, which during the same period 
stand at $2,592,165, British convention; $511,160, Padre Moran convention, 
have only respectively been paid $810,634, and $157,280. Of course conven- 
tion stock has frequently changed hands in the money market, and this will 
account for so many of the present holders of bonds being foreigners. — (See 
paper G.) 



Table sliowing the various clianges wliich have taken place in the British and 
Padre Moran conventions between 1851 and 1860. 



Sinking fund and interest to be paid 
to British convention. 



Custom-house assign- 
ments to satisfy both 
conventions. 



Sinking fund and interest 
under Padre Moran' s 
convention. 



Mr. Doyle's convention. 

1851. Sinking fund, 5 per cent .. ) 
Interest, 3 per cent j 

1852. Sinking fund, 5 per cent .. \ 
Interest, 3 percent _. j 

1857. Sinking fund, 6 per cent .. j 
Interest, 4 per cent \ 

Mr. Otway's convention. 

1858. Sinking fund, 6 per cent .. ) 
Interest, 6 per cent j 

Captain Dunlop's convention. 

1859. Sinking fund, 6 per cent .. | 
Interest, 6 percent j 

Captain Aldham's convention. 

1860. Sinking fund, 6 per cent .. ) 
Interest, 6 per cent j 



12 per cent _- 

12 per cent, and 3 per 
cent , (arrears.) 

15 per cent 

16 per cent 

21 per cent 

29 per cent 



Sinking fund, 5 per cent. 
Interest, 3 per cent. 
Sinlting fund, 5 per cent. 
Interest, 3 per cent. 
Sinking fund, 6 per cent. 
Interest, 4 per cent. 



Sinlving fund, 6 per cent. 
Interest, 4' per cent. 



Sinking fund, 6 per cent. 
Interest, 4 per cent. 



Ceased to participate in 
extra assignments. 



Mexico, Aiigust 20, 1861. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 333 



A. 

Tahenliavi convention, Agent P. de Ansoategui; concluded by Mr. Takenliam, 
on the 15th of Octoher, 1842, with the consent and approbatioji of both the 
British and Mexican governments, as is proved by the despatches marhed in 
the margin. 

Original capital $287, 412 09 

Interest to jSTovember 30, 1850 160, 804 45 

448,216 54 

Amount paid off to same date 291, 654 95 

Balance included in Doyle convention 156, 561 59 

Parties representing Pakenliam convention : 

Jecker, Torre & Co $67, 246 59 

Manning & Mcintosh 52, 573 71 

Viuda Eclieverria e liijos 27, 813 57 

Drusina & Co : 13, 717 27 

J. J. de Eozas 12, 203 12 

Aguero Gonzalez & Co 13, 850 56 

Alexander Grant 54, 483 03 

C. A. Fornaelion '. . , * 2, 332 00 

Martinez del Eio, Brothers 32, 561 79 

Domingo de Ansoategui 4, 067 70 

G. J. Martinez del Rio 250 00 

Bates Jamison & Co 1,600 00 

E. J. Perry 3, 862 75 

Ernesto Masson, for G. & J. Campbell 500 00 

Thomas H. WorraU 350 00 



287,412 09 



B. 

Diplmnatlc arrangement commenced on behalf of Messrs. Montgomery, Nicod 
Sf Co., by Mr. Pakenham, continued by Mr. Doyle in 1843-'44, and con- 
cluded by Mr. Banlchead in 1844. 

Amount of capital on January 1, 1843 |1, 036, 489 25 

Paid as " refacciou," on May 27 and September 23 112, 980 00 

1, 149, 469 25 
Interest up to December 3, 1851 845, 743 70 

1,995,212 95' 
Amount received up to same date 842, 491 77 



Balance included in Doyle convention 1, 152, 721 J § 



334 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Parties interested in above arrangement : 

Martinez del Rio, Brothers 

Stephen Miller 

J). Manterola, for Echeverria 

C. de Lnchet 

B. Maqna 

Frederick Montgomery 

W. Mackintosh 

M. Mead 

M. Moreda 

J. B. Jecker 



$563, 


127 22 


11, 


402 67 


22, 


748 04 


65, 


427 11 


121, 


878 81 


116, 


728 02 


3, 


000 00 


119, 


728 02 


22, 


805 34 


2, 


624 02 


1, 149, 


469 25 



c. 

Diplomatic arrangement concluded hy Mr. Doyle with the Mexicaii government 
in 1849, on behalf of Messrs. Martinez del Rio, agents at that time for what 
was knoion as the ^^ tobacco claiTns;^^ liquidated up to December 3, 1851. 

Amount of "tobacco bonds" $2, 745, 000 00 

Amount of "interior debt" tonds 717, 000 00 

$3, 462, 000 00 

Amount received 384, 000 00 

Capital impaid on December 31, 1851* 3, 078, 000 00 

Due for interest to same date 601, 727 91 

Less received from the treasury 4, 095 84 

597,632 07 



Balance included in Doyle convention 3, 675, 632 07 



*Parties interested in the above arrangement : 

Martinez del Eio Brothers $1, 003, 348 97 

J. S. Beugough 251, 899 03 

J. A. de Bertegui 841, 122 61 

Benito Maqua 354, 053 55 

Muriel Brothers 155, 974 87 

Edward J. Perry 31, 837 33 

Rafael Beraza 18, 521 85 

Manuel Escandon 156, 749 65 

Viuda de Echeverria 138, 158 25 

F. Fagoaga 74, 627 32 

Aguero Gonzalez y Ca 43, 005 47 

J. Rodriguez de S. Miguel, for Madame Arismendi 8, 601 10 

3,078,000 00 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



335 



D. 

Statement of the amount received fro7n all the custom-houses on account of the 
convention fund, from 1852 to 1859. 



1852. 
1853. 

1854. 
1855. 
1856. 
1857. 

1858. 
1859. 



,914 24 
406, 198 2^ 
540,514 26 
343, 107 52 
301,917 05 
104, 087 25 
130, 593 16 
420, 149 87 

2,508,481 61 



The annual estimated produce of the import duties is from $7,000,000 to 
$8,000,000, Ibut even taking the very low figure of $5,000,000, it will be seen 
that in no one year has the original assignment of 12 per cent, been paid. 



E. 

British Convention — Original capital, $4,984,914 84. 



Date. 


Sums that ought to have heen 
paid on account of — 


Date. 


Sums actually paid on ac- 
count of — 




Capital. 


Interest. 


Capital. 


Interest. 


June 4, 1852 


$124,622 87 
124,622 87 
124,622 87 
124,622 87 
124,622 87 
124,622 87 
124,622 87 
124,622 87 
124,622 87 
124,622 87 
149,547 45 
149,547 45 
149,547 45 
149,547 45 
149,547 45 
149,547 45 
149,547 45 
149,547 45 
149,547 45 


$74,773 72 

74,773 72 

73,872 45 

73,872 45 

71,233 37 

71,233 37 

66,720 77 

64,851 43 

64,851 43 

64,851 43 

83,485 60 

83,485 60 

125,228 40 

125,228 40 

125,228 40 

125,228 40 

125,228 40 

125,228 40 

125,228 40 


July 31, 1852 
Dec. 4,1852 
Sept. 5, 1853 
Dec. 80, 1853 
June 5, 1854 
Dec. 28, 1854 
June 15, 1855 
Dec. 20, 1855 
July 12,1856 
Dec. 27, 1856 
Jan. 25, 1858 
May 20, 1858 
May 12, 1859 
Sept. 14, 1859 
Jan. 5,1860 
Apr. 12, 1860 
July 16, 1860 
May 1,1861 
July 12, 1861 




$74,773 72 
74,773 72 
73,872 45 
73,872 45 
71,233 37 


Dec. 4,1852 
June 4, 1853 
Dec. 4, 1853 
June 4, 1854 


$60,084 84 
175,939 05 


Dec. 4,1854 
June 4, 1855 
Dec. 4, 1855 


300,839 61 

124,622 87 


71,233.73 

66,720 77 
64,851 43 


June 4, 1856 




64 851 43 


Dec. 4, 1856 
June 4, 1857 


149,148 47 


64,851 43 
83,485 60 


Dec. 4,1857 




83,485 60 


June 4, 1858 




125,228 40 


Dec. 4, 1858 




125, 228 40 


June 4, 1859 




125,228 40 


Dec. 4, 1859 




125,228 40 


June 4, 1860 




125,228 40 


Dec. 4,1860 




125,228 40 


June 1,1861 




125,228 40 








Total... 


2,592,155 75 


1,744,604 14 


810,634 84 


1,744,604 14 











336 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Padre Moran's Convention — Original capital, $983,000. 



Date. 



June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 



Sums which ought to have 
been paid on account of — 



Capital. 



3 4 


1852 


4 


1852 


) 4 


1853 


4 


1853 


4 


1854 


4 


1854 


4, 


1855 


4, 


1855 


4, 


1856 


4, 


1856 


4, 


1857 


4, 


1857 


4, 


1858 


4, 


1858 


4, 


1859 


4, 


1859 


4, 


1860 


4, 


1860 


i, 


1861 
al... 


Tol 



$24,575 00 
24,575 00 
24,575 00 
24,575 00 
24,575 00 
24,575 00 
24,575 00 
24,575 00 
24,575 00 
24,575 00 
29,490 00 
29,490 00 
29,490 00 
29,490 00 
29,490 00 
29,490 00 
29,490 00 
29,490 00 
29,490 00 



Interest. 



511,160 00 



$14,745 00 
14,745 00 
14,597 55 
14,597 55 
14,086 63 
14,086 63 
13,196 78 
12,828 15 
12,828 15 
12,828 15 
16,514 40 
16,514 40 
24,771 60 
24,771 60 
24,771 60 
24,771 60 
24,771 



60 



24,771 60 
24,771 60 



344,969 59 



Date. 



July 

Dec. 

Sept. 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

June 

Dec. 

July 

Dec. 

Jan. 

May 

May 

Sept. 

Jan. 

Apr. 

July 

May 



31,1852 

4,1852 
5,1853 
30,1853 
5,1854 
28,1854 
15, 1855 
20,1855 
12,1856 
27,1856 

25. 1858 
20,1858 

12. 1859 
14.1859 

5, 1860 

12. 1860 
16, 1860 

1,1861 



Suias actually paid on ac- 
count of — 



Capital. 



),830 00 



34,060 95 



59,324 05 
24,575 00 



29.490 00 



157,280 00 



Interest. 



$14,745 00 
14,745 00 
14,597 55 
14,597 55 
14,086 63 
14,086 63 
13, 196 78 
12,828 15 
12,828 15 
12,828 15 
16,514 40 
16,514 40 
24,771 60 
24,771 60 
24,771 60 
24,771 60 
24,771 60 
24,771 60 



320,197 99 



G. 



CoNVENCiON Inglesa, lo dividendo, Julio 31 de 1852. 



Martinez del Rio Hermanos U, 670, 000 00 

G. J. Martinez del Rio 15, 000 00 

J. P. Martinez del Rio 12, 000 00 

E. J. Perry 51, 000 00 

Alejandro Grant 97, 000 00 

Puifael Beraza 22, 000 00 

1,867,000 00 

J. A. de Beistegui 1, 006, 000 00 

B. DeMacua 546, 000 00 

J. S. Bengougli 301, 000 00 

Manuel Escandon 187, 000 00 

Muriel Hermanos 186, 000 00 

Viuda de Echeverria e liijos 182, 000 00 

J. B. Ecliave, por Testamentaria de D. Manterola 129, 000 00 

J. B. Ecliave, por Testamentaria de J. M. Eclieverria 23, 000 00 

McCalmont Geaves j Oa., Testamentaria de F. Montgomery . 117, 000 00 

McCalmont Geaves j Ca., por la Oompana Unida 9, 000 00 

J. B. Jecker -• 103,000 00 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 337 



Jecker, Torre, y Ca., por C. de Lucliet 

Id id . . Gme. Oocliraii 

Id '. id. .M. IVIoreda 

Id id. .Estevan Miller 

J. M. Flores, Testamentaria de F. Fagoaga 

Agiiero Gronzales y Ca 

Schmidt, Higson j Oa . : 

C. Wliiteliead 

J, Rodriguez de S. Miguel 

J. J. de Rosas 

C. G. Kaufimann 

Benjamin Laurent 

Concurso de Guillermo de Drusina 7 Ca . . . 

C. A. Fornaclion 

Manning j Mackintosh 

Bates, Jamison, y Ca , 



'S5, 


000 


00 


28, 


000 


00 


22, 


000 


00 


11, 


000 


00 


90, 


000 


00 


57, 


000 


00 


13, 


000 


00 


7, 


000 


00 


10, 


000 


00 


7, 


000 


00 


6, 


,000 


00 


5, 


,000 


00 


3, 


,000 


00 


2, 


,000 


00 


2, 


,000 


00 




914 


84 



Convencion Inglesa 4, 984, 914 84 



Convencion Espanola (names not given) 983, 000 00 



Names of proprietors or agents given in tlie account of the 2d dividend of the 
Spanish convention, made Decemher 4, 1852. 

M. J. de Lizardi $368, 625 00 

Cayetano Rubio 245, 750 00 

McOalmont Geaves & Ca., por M. de Emhil y Ca 184, 312 50 

Jecker, Torre, y Ca 184, 312 50 



983,000 00 



Convencion Inglesa, 19o dividendo, Julio 12 de 1861. 

Martinez del Rio Hermanos $417, 876 63 

E. J. Perry 50, 880 00 

Jose de Ansoategui 45, 254 66 



514,011 29 

Carlos Byrn 1, 117, 698 94 

Hermenegildo de Viya 50, 000 00 

Id — por Viya Hermanos 97, 103 45 

Id. . .por Francisco Giflfard , 200, 603 46 

Id. . .por Rafael Beraza 18, 480 00 

Id. . .por J. de Munoz y Munoz 5, 793 10 

Francisco G. de Luzarraga 308, 000 00 

Francisco Morphy 206, 724 14 

Graham Geaves y Ca 88, 908 89 

Id por F. Montgomery 98, 280 00 

Antonio M. Priaui 170, 000 00 

J. B. Echave 20, 000 00 

Id por Testamentaria de D. Manterola 108, 360 00 

Id por J. M. Echevcrrift 19, 320 00 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 22 



338 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Viuda cle Eclieverria 6 hijos $120, 103 02 

N. Davidson 100, 000 00 

Manuel Soriano 100, 000 00 

Alejandro Grant 100, 000 00 

Agdero Gonzales j Ca 38, 880 00 

Miguel Bucli 50, 000 00 

Francisco Bucli 10, 000 00 

Kaymnndo Mora 69, 613 98 

Martin Carrera 68, 275 86 

Manuel M. Rubio 55, 600 00 

Benjamin Barton 43, 000 00 

J. J. Schmidt j Ca., por Schmidt, Higson, y Ca 10, 920 00 

Teodore Chavez ^ 46, 551 73 

Manuel Hernandez 38, 000 00 

Jorge S. Whitehead 36, 666 62 

C, y J. Whitehead 3, 242 23 

J. B. Jecker y Ca., por Guillermo Cochran 23, 520 00 

Id por Estevan Miller 9, 240 00 

Francisco Colina • 30, 000 00 

Juan Antonio de Beistegui 25, 000 00 

Juan Antonio de Beistegui por Testamentaria de Azurmendi . 3, 754 19 

J. Velasquez de Leon 26, 827 59 

Jose C. Murphy 24^512 81 

G. R. Glennie 14, 600 00 

P. Eclieverria, por Menores Echeverria 12, 432 00 

A. Pamanes 9, 793 10 

C. G. Kauffman 8, 400 00 

J. Rodriguez de San Miguel 8, 400 00 

J. J. de Rosas 5, 880 00 

J. M. Landa, por E. Mugaburu 1, 383 61 

Convencion Inglesa 4, 174, 280 00 



Convencion Espanola. 

Carlos Byrn $309, 645 00 

Francisco J. de Luzarraga 254, 822 50 

Juan Antonio de Beistegui 154, 822 50 

Miguel Bringas 103, 240 22 

Francisco Morphy 3, 189 78 

825,720 00 



Enclosure 2 in No. 43. 

THE PAKENHAM CONVENTION, SIGNED OCTOBER 15, 1842. 

Whereas it is expedient that a defi- Por cuanto es conveniente que se 

nite arrangement be concluded for the concluya un an-eglo definitive para el 

payment of certain sums acknowledged pago de ciertas cantidades reconocidas 

to be due by the Mexican government por el gobierno Mexicano a favor de 

to siibjects of her Britannic Majesty, varios subditos de su Magestad Brit- 

the discharge of which has, in some anica, cuyo pago, en algunos casos en 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



339 



cases in the whole, and in others in 
part, been hitherto prevented by un- 
foreseen circumstances; the government 
of the Mexican republic have, from a 
desire to meet the wishes of that of 
Great Britain, consented to conclude 
with her Majesty's minister plenipo- 
tentiary a formal agreement for the 
above purpose ; wherefore the under- 
signed, her Britannic Majesty's minister 
plenipotentiary, having met in formal 
conference, by previous appointment, in 
the office of foreign affairs, the minister 
»)f that department and the minister of 
finance, they have agreed to the fol- 
lowing articles : 



la totalidad, y en otros en parte, no ha 
podido hasta ahora verificarse por cir- 
cunstancias imprevistas, el gobierno de 
la republica Slexicana, dispuesto de 
conformarse con los deseos del de la 
Gran Bretana, ha convenido en concluir 
con el ministro plenipotenciario de su 
Magestad un convenio formal para el 
objeto indicado : a cuyo fin, reimidos 
en conferencia formal citada previa- 
mente en el ministerio de relaciones 
exteriores y gobemacion,los infrascritos 
ministros del citado ramo y del de 
hacienda, con el espresado ministro 
plenipotenciario de su Magestad Bri- 
tanica, han convenido en los articulos 
siffuientes : 



Article I. 

Of the import duties accruing at the 
ports of Vera Cruz and Tampico, from 
and afte*' the date of the present agree- 
ment, there shall be set apart two per 
cent, in the former and one per cent, in 
the latter port, to be applied to the pay- 
ment of the sums acknowledged to be 
due up to this date to British subjects. 
The proceeds of these appropriations 
shall be paid over to the agent of the 
parties interested in them, to be dis- 
tributed in proportion to their respective 
credits. 

The duties already disposed of by 
the government in their whole amount 
previously to the date of this agreement 
are not included in these appropriations, 
it being understood that the portion of 
the duties assigned by the present article 
shall not henceforward be disposed of 
for any other object. 

Article II. 

Such of the said credits as have 
hitherto gained interest by virtue of 
pre-existing agreements shidl continue 
to gain interest at the rate in each case 
stipulated ; and such as have not 
hitherto been entitled to interest shall 
hereafter be entitled to it at the rate of 
twelve per cent, per annum. 



Articulo I. 

De los productos de los derechos de 
importacion que se causaren en los 
puertos de Vera Cruz y Tampico, desde 
la fecha del presente convenio en ade- 
lante, se separard un dos por ciento en 
el primero, y el uno por ciento en el 
segundo, que se aplicara al pago delas 
cantidades reconocidas hasta el dia a 
favor de subditos Britanicos. Los pro- 
ductos de estas asignaciones se entre- 
garan al agente que designen los inter- 
esados en ellas, para que las distribuya 
en justa -prorata con proporcion al 
monto de los creditos que representen. 

No se comprenden en estas asigna- 
ciones los derechos de que en totalidad 
haya dispuesto el gobierno con anteri 
oridad a la fecha de este convenio, en- 
tendiendose que en lo sucesivo no se 
dispondra para otro objeto de la parte 
de derechos consignada por el presente 
articulo. 

Articulo II. 

Los creditos que hasta el dia han 
ganado iuteres a virtud de convenios 
pre-cxistentes,seguiran gozandalo segun 
la cuota estipulada en cada case ; y los 
que hasta ahora no lo han disfrutado, 
tendra derecho a el a razon de un doce 
por ciento anual. 



340 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Article III. 

It is moreover agreed that tlie iu- 
terest accruing up to this date, and not 
yet discharged, shall be computed and 
added to the respective capitals ; and 
this new capital shall be entitled to 
interest at the rate of twelve per cent, 
per annum up to the date of its dis- 
charge. 

Article IV. 

In order to prevent any doubt or 
misapprehension as to the description 
of credits to be entitled to the benefit 
of the present agreement, it is declared 
that its application shall extend only 
to such credits as have been acknow- 
ledged by the Mexican government 
through the interference of the British 
mission, including the sums exacted 
from time to time from the subjects of 
her Majesty under the head of forced 
loans. 

Article V. 

It is formally declared by the parties 
to this agreement that it shall be con- 
sidered as having the same force and 
effect, and being equally binding, as a 
convention between the two govern- 
ments. 

In witness whereof we, the ministers 
aforesaid, have signed it, and sealed it 
with our respective seals. 

Done at Mexico, this fifteenth day 
of October, one thousand eight hundred 
and forty -two. 



L. s. 

l.s. 

L.S. 



E. PAKENHMI. 

J. M. DE BOCANEGRA. 

G. INGUERAS. 



Articulo III. 

Se conviene ademas que los intereses 
vencidos hasta esta fecha, que no han 
sido satisfechos, se liquidaran y agre- 
garan al capital respectivo, y este auevo 
capital disfrutara tambien del beneficio 
del doce por ciento de interes anual 
hasta su pago. 



Articulo IV. 

En obvio de cualquiera duda 6 mala 
inteligencia en cuanto a la clase de 
creditos que han de disfrutar de las 
ventajas del presente convenio, se de- 
clara que ellas se aplicaran solamente 
a los creditos que han sido reconocidos 
por el gobierno de Mexico a solicitud 
de la legacion Britanica, entre los que 
comprenden las cantidades exigidas en 
diversas epocas a subditos de su 
Magestad en clase de prestamos for- 
zosos. 

Articulo V. 

Se declara solemnemente por ambas 
partes que el presente convenio se con- 
siderara de la misma fuerza y valor 
que una convencion entre los dos gobi- 
ernos, y que sera igualmente obliga- 
torio. 

En fe de lo cual los espresados minis- 
tros lo firmamos, y sellamos con nues- 
tros sellos respectivos. 

Fecho en Mexico, a quince de Octu- 
bre, de mil ochocientos cuarenta y dos. 



L. s.] J. M. DE BOCANEGRA. 
L.S.] G. INGUERAS. 
L.S.I R. PAKENHAM. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 43. 
SUB-CONVENTION, SIGNED BY MR. DOYLE, NOVEMBER 27, 1852. 

In virtue of the convention signed En virtud de la convencion que se 

on the 4th of December, 1851,* be- firmo el dia 4 de Diciembre de 1851* 

tween the minister for foreign afftiirs of por el excelentisimo seiior ministro de 

the Mexican republic and her Britannic relaciones de la repiiblica Mexicana y 



See Enclosure 5 in No. 43. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



341 



Majesty's cliargd d'affaires in that re- 
pixblic, it was agreed that twelve per 
cent, of the sums received at the mari- 
time custom-houses should be set apart 
for the payment of the three per cent, 
interest and of five per cent, destined 
to pay off the capital of the sums in- 
cluded in that convention, and that "if 
at the end of the year the amounts due 
for interest and for paying off the capi- 
tal should not be covered, the general 
treasury, without waiting for any 
further orders, was to pay the amount 
due with the first drafts it received 
from the maritime custom-houses." 

It has been ascertained that, in con- 
sequence of the revolutionary move- 
ments which have been for some time 
existing, and which unfortunately still 
exist in various parts of the republic, 
there will be a large deficit on the 4th 
proximo in the amount necessary to 
pay the sums stipulated upon in the 
aforesaid convention. With the view, 
however, of proving the entu-e good 
faith with which the Mexican govern- 
ment is resolved to carry the conven- 
tion of the 4th of last December into 
effect, and which has been partially 
delayed on the present occasion by the 
unforeseen circumstances above-men- 
tioned, a formal conference by previous 
appointment took place this day in the 
office of foreign affairs, the minister of 
that department, the minister of finance, 
and her Britannic Majesty's minister 
plenipotentiary being present, when 
the followmg agreement was come to, 
namely : 

That for the payment of the sums 
which may be ascertained to be due in 
the liquidation to be made on the 4th 
of next December, of the three per 
cent, interest, and of the five per cent, 
destined to pay off the capital under 
the English convention, there be set 
apart from that date a further sum of 
three per cent, of the import duties in 
the mai'itime custom-houses of Vera 
Cruz, Tampico, Acapulco, Manzanillo, 
Altata, and Guaymas, and in those of 
San Bias and Mazatlan, as soon as they 
return to the obedience they owe to the 
general government. 



el encargado de negocios de sn Mages- 
tad Britanica en dicha republica, se 
convenio que se separaria un doce por 
ciento de los derechos de importacion 
en las aduanas maritimas para pagar 
el tres por ciento de reditos y cinco por 
ciento de amortizacion de las sumas 
comprendidas en esa convencion, y que 
" si al fin del ano no estuvieran cubier- 
tas los inter eses y el cinco por ciento 
de amortizacion, la tesoreria general, 
sin necesidad de nueva orden, cubriria 
el deficit con la primeras libranzas que 
recibiera de las aduanas maritimas." 

Mas habiendose reconocido que, a 
consecuencia de los movimientos revo- 
lucionarios que de algun tiempo a esta 
parte se ban presentado, y qu.e por 
desgracia todavia existen actualmente 
en varios puntos de la republica, habra 
un dfeficit considerable para completar 
la suma que corresponde al dividendo 
que se debia pagar el dia 4 del proximo 
Diciembre conforme a la citada con- 
vencion ; y con el fin de manifestar la 
absoluta buena fe que el gobierno Mexi- 
cano quiere mostrar en el cuinplimiento 
de la convencion del 4 de Diciembre 
ultimo, y que en esta ocasion se ha 
diferido parcialmente por las circun- 
stancias imprevistas ya menciouadas, 
se cito una conferencia fonnal, la cual 
se ha efectu^do el dia de hoy en el 
ministerio de relaciones, estando pre- 
sentes los senores ministros de rela- 
ciones y de hacienda, y el senor minis- 
tro plenipotenciario de su ]\Iagestad 
Britanica, y se convino en el arreglo 
siguiente : 

Se destina para el pago de la canti- 
dad que por la proxima liquidacion re- 
sulte dcberse a la convencion Inglesa, 
por el tres por ciento de reditos y cinco 
por ciento de amortizacion correspon- 
dientes al ano que termina el 4 de Dici- 
embre proximo, un tres por ciento mas 
de lo que tiene senalado de los derechos 
de importacion que se causen en las 
aduanas maritimas de Vera Cruz, Tam- 
pico, Acapulco, Manzanillo, Altata, y 
Guaymas, y en las de San Bias y Ma- 
zatlan, cuando vuelvau el orden. 



342 



TPIE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



This increase of three per cent, will Este aumento del tres por ciento 

cease as soon as the deficit is made cesara en cuanto este cubierto el deficit 

good. espresado. 

[L.S.] PEKCY W. DOYLE. " [l.s.] M. YANEZ. 



Enclosure 4 in No. 43. 
THE OTWAY CONVENTION, SIGNED AUGUST 10, 1858. 



At a conference held between the 
undersigned minister plenipotentiary of 
her Britannic Majesty and the minister 
for foreign affairs of the Mexican re- 
public, with the object of drawing up 
in due form the new an-angements rela- 
tive to the fulfilment of the convention 
of 4th December, 1851, for the pay- 
ment of claims of British subjects 
against the national treasury, which, 
by approval and sanction of his excel- 
lency the acting president of the re- 
public, were agreed to on the 31st of 
last month, in conformity with the con- 
tents of the confidential note addressed 
by the latter to the former on the same 
date, bearing in mind the previous ck- 
cvimstances of this transaction, the ex- 
planations in various conferences with 
reference thereto, the statement given 
in writing on the 23d of the same 
month by Messrs. Martinez del Eio 
Brothers, as parties interested in the 
same convention and agents thereof, 
and moreover all that which was stated 
verbally by Messrs. Martinez del Rio 
in the last conference as to the losses 
and injuries sustained in consequence 
of the delays and want of punctuality 
in the payments, the large amount 
which on this account is due to them, 
and the rights to which, in viitue of 
the said convention, they are entitled, 
especially those conceded by article 
VII, of which they might take advan- 
tage, as the case provided against has 
now arisen, being desu'ous of not car- 
rying matters to this extremity, but, on 
the contrary, to conciliate inasmuch as 
possible the interests of the creditors 
with the distressed position of the 
national finances in consequence of the 
circumstances in which the country 



Reunidos los infrascritos ministro de 
relaciones esteriores de la republica 
Mexicana y ministro plenipotenciario 
de su Magestad Britanica con el objeto 
de extender en debida forma los arre- 
glos relativos al cumplimiento de la 
convencion de 4 de Diciembre de 1851, 
sobre pago de creditos de subditos 
Ingleses contra el erario nacional que, 
con aprobacion de su excelencia el 
presidente interino de la republica que- 
daron acordados desde el 31 del mes 
proximo anterior, segun la nota confi- 
dencial que el primero paso al segundo 
en la misma techa, teniendo en con- 
sideracion los antecedentes de este ne- 
gocio, lo mahifestado en diversas con- 
ferencias acerca de el, lo espuesto por 
escrito en 23 del mismo por los Sefiores 
Martinez del Rio, Hermanos, como in- 
teresados y agentes de la referida con- 
vencion, y cuanto de palabra espreso 
el Sefior Martinez del Rio en la ultima 
conferencia sobre los daQos y peijuicios 
que han sufrido con ocasion de las dila- 
ciones y falta de puntual cumplimiento 
en el pago, la crecida suma que por tal 
motivo se les debe, y los derechos que 
por tal convencion les competen, espe- 
cialmente los que les dejo a salvo el 
articulo VII, de que pudieran hoy 
hacer uso por haber llegado el case 
previsto en el deseando no llevar las 
cosas a este estremo, sino conciliar 
cuanto sea posible los intereses de los 
acreedores con el estado angustioso del 
erario por las circunstancias en que 
actualmente se encuentra la nacion, y 
aprovechando los buenos sentimientos 
que siempre han mostrado los espre- 
sados acreedores, animado el gobierno 
por su parte de los mas sinceros deseos 
de proteger, cuanto esta a su alcance, 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



343 



finds itself, and profiting by the favor- 
ble disposition always evinced by the 
said creditors, and, at tbe same time, 
the government being on their part 
animated by the most sincere desire to 
protect, in as far as may be in their 
power, the interests of British subjects, 
have aarreed as follows : 



los iatereses de los siibditos Britanicos, 
ban acordada los articulos siguientes : 



Article I. 

For the exact fulfilment, strict ob- 
servance, and in\-iolability of the con- 
vention of December 4, 1851, regard- 
ing British claims, and with the view 
of repairing in some degree the injuries 
sustained by the parties therein con- 
cerned from the want of the punctual 
payment of the quotas assigned, all 
dividends which from this time forward 
shall be declared on account of interest, 
shall be so at the rate of six per cent. 
per annum in lieu of three and four as 
hitherto stipulated. 

Article II. 

The payments will continue to be 
made on the terms stipulated in the 
aforesaid convention, setting aside for 
that purpose the assigned quota of six- 
teen per cent, of the import duties of 
the maritime custom-houses, without 
any alteration or change whatever, and 
remitting the same in bUls, as agreed 
upon, for delivery to Messrs. Martinez 
del Rio Brothers. 

Article III. 

The amounts which have been omit- 
ted to be paid to the parties interested, 
and to which they have a just and in- 
disputable right, will be made good to 
them whenever the government shaU 
possess sufficient means, it being im- 
possible to effect this at the present 
moment, in consequence of their urgent 
necessities and limited resources. 

Article IV. 

The aforesaid convention of the 4th 
of December, 1851, and all the provi- 
sions necessary for its exact fulfilment, 



Articulo I. 

Para el exacto cumplimiento, estricta 
observancia, e inviolabilidad de la con- 
vencion de 4 de Diciembre, de 1851, 
sobre creditos Ingleses, y reparar de 
alguna manera los perjuicios que ban 
sufrido los comprendidos en ella por 
falta de pago puntual de los cuotas 
senaladas, todo dividendo que se haga 
desde esta fecha en adelante por cuenta 
de reditos sera a razon de seis por ciento 
al ano en vez del tres y cuatro que 
estaba estipulado. 



Articulo II. 

Los pages continuard,n haciendose en 
los terminos espresados en dicha con- 
vencion, separandose al efecto en las 
aduanas maritimas sin variaciou la cuota 
fijada de diez y seis por ciento de los 
derechos de importacion, remitiendose 
en libranzas, como esta dispuesto, para 
su entrega 4 los Senores Martinez del 
Rio, Hermanos. 



Articulo III. 

Las cantidades que ban dejado de 
pagarse ^ los interesados, d, que tienen 
derecho justo e indisputable, les serdn 
satisfechas cuaudo el gobierno tenga 
recvuTos bastantes, no pudiendo verifi- 
carse desde luego por sus urgentes 
atenciones y las escasezes del erario. 



Articulo IV. 

Quedan en todo su vigor y fuerza la 
citada convencion de 4 de Diciembre 
de 1851, y las disposiciones que se 



344 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



remain in full force and vigor witliout 
further alteration or change than what 
is expressly laid down and stipvxlated 
in the present agreement as to the in- 
crease of interest, without its being in 
any way thereby understood to be 
modified, changed, altered, or with less 
force and vigor than heretofore, inas- 
much as that which is now agreed to 
is for the sole object and purpose, as 
already stated, of confirming and rati- 
fying the inviolability and punctual 
observance thereof; it will, conse- 
quently, hold the same force as though 
it had been literally inserted in the 
same, and Article VII thereof extended 
to the present agreement. 

In witness whereof, we, the said 
minister plenipotentiary of her Britan- 
nic Majesty and minister for foreign 
affairs of the republic of Mexico, have 
signed the present protocol, and have 
affixed thereto our respective seals. 

Done in the city of Mexico on the 
tenth day of the month of August, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and fifty-eight. 

[l. s.] L. C. OTWAY. 



hubieren dictado para su exacto cum- 
plimiento sin mas diferencia que lo es- 
presamente estipulado en el presente 
convenio sobre aumento de redito, no 
entendiendose por esto iuovada, altera- 
da, 6 con menos valor que antes; pues 
lo pactado ahora es como se ha dicho 
para confirmar y asegurar su inviola- 
bilidad y puntual observancia; tendra. 
por tanto la misma fuerza que si literal- 
mente se hallara inserto en ella; hacien- 
dose estensivo ^ este arreglo lo con- 
tenido en su Articulo VII. 



En fe de lo cual los espresados min- 
istro de relaciones esteriores de la re- 
publica Mexicana y ministro plenipo- 
tenciario de su Magestad Britanica, 
hemos firmado y sellado con nuestros 
sellos respectivos al presente protocolo, 
en la ciudad de Mexico, a diez de 
Agosto, de mil ochocientos ciucuenta y 
ocho. 

[l. s.] J. M. DE CASTILLO Y 
LANZAS. 



Enclosure 5 in No. 43. 
THE DOYLE CONVENTION, SIGNED DECEMBER 4, 1851. 

Habiendo el gobierno de la republica Mexicana hecho presente la imposibilidad 
en que se encuentra de cumplir ciertos convenios y arreglos que existen entre el 
gobierno Mexican© y varios subditos Britanicos, celebrados bajo la garantia de 
la legacion de su Magestad Britanica, porque la penuria del erario federal lo ha 
obligado a suspender el pago de las cuotas a que por aquellos convenios y aiTe- 
glos estaba obligado ; despues de largas y repetidas conferencias en que se han 
examinado detenidamente el estado de las rentas de la republica, las cuantiosas 
obligaciones que sobre ellas pesan, y la conveniencia comun de fundar un arreglo 
sobre condiciones exiquibles y no sobre unas de dificil 6 incierto cu.mplimiento 
que ademas del peijuicio que causarian a los acreedores podrian comprometer la 
consers'acion de la buena armonia que existe entre los gobiernos de ambos paises, 
deseando el de Mexico hacer justicia a las demandas de sus acreedores hasta 
donde se lo permiten sus recursos y la obligacion y derecho de conservarse, y 
convenidos los acreedores en hacer el sacrificio de sus reclamos bajo las bases de 
un arreglo tan equitativo como lo permita la situacion pecuniaria del gobierno 
contandose con la garantia y seguridad de que serd, exactamente cumplido, los 
iufrascritos ministro de relaciones de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, autorizado 
por el decreto de diez y siete de Octubre del corriente ano, y encargado de 
negocios de su Magestad Britanica, reunidos en conferencia diplomatica han 
convem'do en los artlculos siguientes : 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 345 

Articulo I. 

Los reclamantes interesados en las convenciones y arreglos existentes que 
coiTen con el nombre de la casa de Martinez del Rio hermanos, de Montgomery 
Nicod y Compafiia, representados por la casa de Jecker y Compafiia y de con- 
vencion Pakenham firmada el 15 de Octubre de 1842, se presentaran a la 
tesoreria general para liacer la liquidacion de sus creditos con arreglo 4 este 
convenio, y la citada oficina lo verificara precisamente dentro del teiToino de 
treinta dias contados desde el de su fecba. 

Articulo IT. 

El gobierno Mesicano se obliga A pagai* anualmente cinco por ciento de amorti- 
zacion de ese fondo consolidado, y tres por ciento de interes annal calctdado 
sobre la disminucion progresiva que ocasiona la amortizacion. 

Articulo III. 

El pago de las cantidades anuales que se destinan a la amortizacion e intere- 
ses de los creditos comprendidos en el presente convenio se verificara por 
semestres vencidos, en manos del comisionado que al efecto nombraren los 
acreedores comprendidos en el. Para bacer efectivas las estipulaciones con- 
tenidas en el articulo anterior, el gobierno Mexicano se obliga a consignar sobre 
el producto de los derecbos de importacion que se cobren en las aduanas estab- 
lecidas en los puertos de la repiiblica, un tanto por ciento bastante para cubrir 
el monto del cinco por ciento de amortizacion, y del tres por ciento de interes 
que se seiiala a los creditos comprendidos en el presente convenio. Para que 
en ningun tiempo pueda diferirse 6 suspenderse el pago de ese cinco y tres por 
ciento, el gobierno Mexicano se obliga a pasar una orden a los administradores 
de la espresada renta, senalandoles la cuota de los derecbos espresados que 
deben remitir en libranzas separadas a la tesoreria general a favor de diebo 
comisionado, las cuales libranzas deberan serle entregadas en cuanto las reciba 
la espresada tesoreria. 

Si al fin del ano no estuvieren cubiertos los intereses y el cinco por ciento de 
amortizacion, la tesoreria general, sin necesidad de nueva orden, cubrira el deficit 
con las primeras libranzas que reciba de las aduanas maritimas ; y el comisionado, 
por su parte, si bubiese recibido mayor cantidad que la que importen los espresados 
intereses y amortizacion anual, devolvera a la tesoreria general el escedente. 

Articulo IV. 

El ministro de relaciones de la republica pasara al encargado de negocios de 
su Magestad Britanica una copia de la orden que por el de bacienda se trasmita 
a los administradores de aduanas en cumplimiento del articulo anterior, la cual 
se considerara como si estuviese inserta y formara pai'te del presente convenio. 

, Articulo Y. 

Deseando el gobierno Mexicano dar pruebas inequivocas de la justicia y equi- 
dad con que se propone proceder en este arreglo, se obliga a mcjorar la condicion 
de sus acreedores, aumentando despues del quiuto ano, contado desde esta fecba, 
el interes concedido al capital y a su amortizacion. En consccuencia, se obliga 
a pagarles el cuatro por ciento anual de interes y el seis por ciento anual de 
amortizacion al cumplirsc diclio quinto aiio, de tal mancra que este aumento cm- 
piece tl corrcr desde el sesto. 

Articulo VI. 

Como el congi-eso Mexicano esta tratando de bacer una ley para el pago de la 
dcuda interior, los iuteresados comprcudidos en el presente convenio qucdau cada 



346 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

uno de ellos en libertad de trasladar bus creditos al fondo que en virtud de ella 
se creare, liaciendo saber su resolucion al ministro de relaciones, quien la com- 
municara a la legacion de su Magestad Britanica. ^ 

Articulo VII. 

Queda espresamente estipulado j convenido que en caso de qtiebrantarse, sus- 
penderse, 6 diferirse por el tesoro Mexicano el cumplimiento de cualquiera de las 
obligaciones que contrae en presente convenio, queda este de becbo anulado, y 
convenciones existentes. 

En fe de lo cual los espresados ministro de relaciones y encargado de negocios 
de su Magestad Britanica lo firmamos y sellamos con nuestros sellos respectivos, 
en la ciudad de Mexico, a 4 de Diciembre de 1851. 



L. s. 

L. S. 



PERCY W. DOYLE. 
JOSf: F. RAMIREZ. 



THE SAYAS OR PADRE MARAN CONVENTION, SIGNED DECEMBER 6, 1851. 

Habiendo becbo presente el gobiemo de la republica Mexicana la imposibilidad 
en que se encuentra de cumplir ciertos convenios j arreglos que se celebraron 
entre el mismo gobiemo j el Reverendo Padre Moran, apoderado de las Misiones 
Apostolicas de Filipinas, de la orden de Santo Domingo, bajo la garaniia de la 
legacion de su Magestad Oatolica, porque la penuria del erario federal le ha 
obligado a suspender el pago de las cuotas que por aquellos se asiguaron para 
la estincion de varios creditos, despues de largas y repetidas conferencias en que 
se han examinado detenidamente el estado de . las rentas de la republica, las 
cuantiosas obligaciones que sobre ellas pesan, y la conveniencia comun de fundar 
un arreglo sobre condiciones exequibles y no sobre unas de dificil 6 incierto 
cumplimiento, que ademas del perjuicio que causarian k los acreedores podrian 
suscitar dificidtades entre los gobiernos de Espana y de Mexico ; deseando este 
ultimo hacer justicia a las demandas de sus acreedores hasta donde se lo permitan 
sus recursos, y obligacion y derecbo de conservarse, convenido Don Oajetano 
Rubio, dueno actual de los creditos que pertenecieron 4 las espresadas misiones, 
en bacer el sacrificio de sus derecbos entrando en una transaccion bajo las bases 
de un arreglo tan equitativo como lo permita la situacion peciiniaria del gobierno 
Mexicano, y con la garantia y seguridad de que sera exactamente cumplido, los 
infrascritos ministro de relaciones de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, aiitorizado 
por el decreto de 17 de Octubre del corriente ano, y enviado extraordinario y 
ministro plenipotenciario de su Magestad Catolica, reunidos en conferencia, han 
convenido en los articulos siguientes : 

Articulo I. 

Don Cayetano Rubio, actual poseedor de los dreditos que pertenecieron a los 
padres misioneros dominicos, comprendidos en los arreglos y convenios que cor- 
ren con el nombre de su apoderado el Reverendo Padre Moran, se presentara a 
la tesoreria general para hacer la liquidacion de los espresados creditos con ar- 
reglo al presente convenio, y la citada oficina la verificara precisamente dentro 
del termino de treinta dias contados desde el de su fecha. 

Articulo II. 

El gobierno Mexicano se obliga ^ pagar anualmente cinco por ciento de 
amortizacion de ese fondo consolidado, y tres por ciento de interes anuel calcu- 
lado sobre la diminucion progresiva que ocasione la amortizacion. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 347 



Articulo III. 

El pago de las cantidades anuales que se destinan 4 la amortizacion e intereses 
de los creditos comprendidos en el presente convenio, se verificara por semestres 
vencidos en manos de Don Cayetano Rubio. Para hacer efectivas las estipu- 
laciones contenidas en el articulo anterior, el gobierno Mexicano se obliga a eon- 
signar sobre el producto de los derecbos de importacion que se cobren en las 
aduanas establecidas en los puertos de la repiiblica un tanto por ciento bastante 
para cubrirse el monto del cinco por ciento de amortizacion y del tres por ciento 
de interes que se senala a los creditos comprendidos en el presente convenio. 
Para que en niugun tiempo pueda diferirse 6 suspenderse el pago de ese ciaco y 
tres, por ciento, el gobieruo Mexicano se obliga i, pasar una ordeu a los adminis- 
tradoes de la espresada renta, senalandoles la cuota de los derecbos espresados 
que deben remitir en libranzas separadas a la tesoreria general a favor de dicbo 
Seaor Rubio, las cuales libranzas deberan serle entregadas, en cuanto las reciba 
la espresada tesoreria. 

Si al fin del auo no estuvieren cabiertos los intereses j el cinco por ciento de 
amortizacion, la tesoreria general, sin necesidad de nueva orden, cubrird el deficit 
con las primeras libranzas que reciba de las aduanas maritimas, j el Seuor 
Rubio por su parte, si bubiere recibido mayor cantidad que la que importen los 
espresados intereses y amortizacion anual, devolverd a la tesoreria general el 
escedente. 

Articulo IV. 

El ministro de relaciones de la republica pasai'4 al ministro plenipotenciario 
de su Magestad Oatolica una copia de la orden que por el de bacienda se trans- 
mita a los administradores de las aduanas, en cumplimiento del articulo anterior, 
la cual se considerara como si estuviese inserta, y formard parte del presente 
convenio. 

Articulo V. 

Deseando el gobiemo Mexicano dar pruebas inequivocas de la justicia y equi- 
dad con que se propone proceder en este arreglo, se obliga d. mejorar la condicion 
del credito d. que se refiere' aumentando despues del quinto aiio, contado desde 
esta fecba, el interes concedido al capital y a su amortizacion. En consecuencia, 
se obliga a pagar al Seiior Don Caytano Rubio, el quatro por ciento anual de 
interes, y el seis por ciento anual de amortizacion, al cumplirse dicbo quinto ano, 
de tal manera que este aumento empiece d correr desde el sesto. 

Articulo VI. 

Como el congreso Mexicano esta tratando de bacer una ley para el pago de 
la deuda interior, Don Cayetano Rubio queda en libertad de trasladar los credi- 
tos a que se refiere el presente convenio al fondo que en virtud de ella se creare, 
liaciendo saber su resolucion al ministerio de relaciones, quien la comunica a 
la legacion de su Magestad Catolica. 

Articulo VII. 

Queda espresamente estipulado y convenido, que en caso de quebrantarse, 
suspenderse 6 diferirse por el tesoro Mexicano el cumplimiento de cualquiera de 
las obligaciones que contrae en el presente convenio, queda este de hecbo anul- 
ado, y el Senor Rubio rcstituido en el gocc do los derecbos adquiridos en los 
arreglos y couvenciones cclcbradas con el Reverendo Padre Morau. 



348 THE PRESENT CONDITION OP MEXICO. 

En fe de lo cual, espresados Ministro de relaciones de la repilblica Mexicana, 
y enviado estraordinario y ministro pleuipotenciario de su Magestad Catolica, 
lo firmamos j sellamos con nuestro sello respectivo, en la ciudad de Mexico, a 
seis de Diciembre de mil ochocientos cincuenta j uno. 

L. s.j JOSE F. RAMIREZ. 

L. S.J JUAN ANTONIO Y ZATAS. 



[Translation which, mutatis mutandis, will serve for both conventions.] 

The Mexican government having declared the impossibility of its fulfilling 
certain conventions and agreements which exist between it and various British 
subjects, entered into under the guarantee of her Britannic Majesty's legation, 
on account of the state of penury of the federal treasury, which has caused it 
to suspend the payment of certain quotas set apart for the payment of those 
conventions and agreements, after long and repeated conferences, in which the 
state of the revenue of the republic has been carefully looked into, the numer- 
ous obligations by which it is bound, and the advantage to both parties to enter 
into an arrangement founded on conditions which can be carried out, and not on 
such as may be of difficult or uncertain execution, which besides the prejudice 
they would cause to the creditors themselves, might compromise the preservation 
of the good harmony which exists between the governments of both countries ; 
and being, moreover, desirous of doing justice to the demands made by its cred- 
itors, as far as its resources and the obligation and right it has to preserve its 
existence will permit, and its creditors being willing to make the sacrifice of 
their demands in favor of an arrangement based upon as equitable terms as the 
situation of the finances of the country will permit, counting upon the guaran- 
tee and security that it will be faithfully carried out, the undersigned, minister 
for foreign affairs of the United States of Mexico, authorized by the decree of 
17th October of the present year, and her Britannic Majesty's charge d'affahes, 
having met together in a diplomatic conference, have agreed upon the following 
articles : 

Article I. 

The creditors interested in the existing conventions and arrangements known 
under the name of the house of Martinez del Rio Brothers ; of Montgomery, 
Nicod & Co., represented by the house of Jecker & Co.; and of the convention 
signed by Mr. Pakenham on the 15th of October, 1842 — shaR present 
themselves at the general treasury to settle the amount of their credits, ac- 
cording to the terms agreed upon in this convention, and that amount shall be 
fixed precisely within the term of thirty days, counted from the day on which 
this convention is signed. 

Article IL 

The Mexican government obliges itself to pay yearly a sum of five per cent, 
for the purpose of paying off the capital of this consolidated fund, and three per 
cent, a year for interest upon it, calculated on the gradual decrease of the amount 
of the fund caused by the paying off of the capital. 

Article III. 

The payment of the sums destined to pay off yearly the capital and interest 
of the credits included in the present convention shall take place every six 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OP MEXICO 349 

montLs tlirougli a commissioner appointed for that purpose hj the creditors in- 
terested in tlie convention. 

To render effective tlie stipulations contained in the preceding article, the 
Mexican government obliges itself to assign from the produce of the importa- 
tion duties collected in the custom-houses established in the ports of the repub- 
lic, so much per cent, as maj be sufficient to cover the amount necessary for 
paying the five per cent, destined to pay off the capital and the three per cent, 
interest allotted to the credits included in the present convention. 

To prevent any delay or suspension at any time taking place in the payment 
of the five and three per cent, above mentioned, the Mexican government obliges 
itself to send an order to the collectors of the aforesaid revenue, stating to them 
the amount of the aforesaid duties to be sent in separate drafts to the general 
treasury in favor of the aforesaid commissioner, which drafts are to be made 
over to him as soon as they are received at the treasury. 

If at the end of the year the amounts due for the interest and for paying off 
the capital are not covered, the general treasury, without waiting for any fur- 
ther order, shall pay the amount due with the first drafts it receives from the 
maritime custom-houses ; and the commissioner, on his part, if he should have 
received more than is necessary for paying off the yearly amount of the capital, 
and the interest agreed upon, shall return the surplus to the treasury. 

Article IV. 

The miuister for foreign affairs of this republic shall send to her Britannic 
Majesty's charge d'affaires a copy of the order which the minister of finance 
sends to the collectors of the custom-houses in fulfilment of the preceding arti- 
cle, which article shall be considered as having been inserted in and forming 
part of the present convention. 

Article V. 

The Mexican government being desirous of giving unequivocal proofs of the 
justice and equity with which it intends to act in this arrangement, obliges itself 
to better the condition of its creditors, by increasing from the fifth year, counted 
from the present date, the interest granted for the capital, and the sum allotted 
for paying it off. 

It consequently obliges itself to pay four per cent, interest a year, and to al- 
low six per cent, a year for paying off the capital from the end of the fifth year, 
that is to say, that this increase is to take place from the beginning of the sixth 
year from the present date. 

Article VI. 

As the Mexican congress is about to pass a law for the pui-pose of paying off 
the internal debt, the persons interested in the present convention are all and 
each one at liberty to-transfer their credits into the fund which may be created 
for the above purpose, making their intention known to the minister of foreign 
afffiirs, who will communicate it to her Britannic Majesty's legation. 

Article VII. 

It is especially stipulated and agreed that, in the event of any part of the ob- 
ligations contracted by the present convention being broken through, or their 
fulfilment delayed or suspended by the Mexican treasury, this convention be- 
comes at once thereby annulled, and the creditors restored to the possession of 
the rights acquired in the conventions and arrangements already existing. 



350 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

In witness whereof we, tlie aforesaid minister for foreign afPairs of the Mexi- 
can republic, and her Britannic Majesty's charg(^ d'afiaires, have signed and 
sealed the above convention with our respective seals. 

Done at Mexico, the fourth day of December, one thousand eight hundred 
and fifty-one. 



I L. S. 

[l. s. 



PERCY W. DOYLE. 
JOSE J. RAMIREZ. 



Enclosure 6 in No 43. 

Oustom-liotise order wJiicli formed part of the Doyle and Fadre Moran conven- 
tions, though not issued till two months after the ratification of the two con- 
ventions. 

Secrbtaria de Estado y del Despacho de Hacienda, Seccion 2, Num. 37. 

Para que tengan su puntual cumplimiento las convenciones celebradas en 4 
y 6 de Diciembre del aiio proximo pasado con el SeSor Encargado de Negocios 
de su Magestad Britanica y el excelentisimo Senor Enviado Extraordinario de 
su Magestad Catolica sobre la amortizacion gradual y pago de intereses a razon 
de 3 por ciento anual de los creditos reconocidos por el gobierno i, favor de 
varios subditos Ingleses, y del que tienen contra el erario las misiones de 
Filipinas representadas por el Reverendo Padre Fr. Josd M. Moran, y pertene- 
ciente hoy a Don Cayetano Rubio, el excelentisimo Senor Presidente ha tenido 
a bien disponer que esa tesoreria general prevenga 4 las aduanas maritimas 
que de'los derechos de importacion que se causen en ellas, separen el 12 por 
ciento que es lo que por ahora se necesita para la indicada amortizacion y pago 
de rdditos ; remitiendo su importe sin demora de ninguna clase a esa tesoreria 
general en libranzas pagaderas ^ los plazos (?el arancel a favor de los Seiiores 
Martinez del Rio hermanos, quienes las recibird, de esa oficina para dar d su 
importe la aplicacion correspondiente como comisionados nombrados al efecto 
por los respectivos acreedores, llevandose por easa propia tesoreria la cuenta 
respectiva de las sumas que se abonen en cuenta de los mencionados creditos, 
previa la correspondiente Hquidacion de su monto. Como por las circunstancias 
en que aun se encuentra el Estado de Yucatan no es posible que por ahora se 
haga en las aduanas maritimas de Campeche y Sisal la separacion del indicado 
12 por ciento por la diminucion que sufririan los recursos destinados d las tropas 
ocupadas en la guerra contra los indigenas, el excelentisimo SeSor Presidente 
ha dispuesto que entretanto las espresadas aduanas pueden hacer la remision 
del repetido 12 por ciento den uuicamente noticia a esa tesoreria, cada mes, de 
lo que importe la misma cuota para que lo reintegre la aduana de Vera Cruz 
por cuenta de la parte libre para el gobierno de los derechos de importacion. 
Deseando el excelentisimo Senor Presidente que lo estipulado en las men- 
cionadas convenciones sea exactamente cumplido como exige el decoro de la 
nacion, ha dispuesto que V. SS. encarguen muy particulannente d los adminis- 
tradores de las aduanas maritimas respectivas, la puntual observancia de las 
prevenciones precedentes sin distraer para ningun otro objeto las cantidades 
pertenecientes al fondo de que se trata, en el concepto de que su excelencia verd 
con desagrado cualquiera omision 6 descuido que note en el particular, y tomard, 
en el caso las providencias que convengan. Todo lo que de orden suprema 
comunico a V. SS. para su inteligencia y fines indicados. 
Dios y libertad. 
Mexico, Febrero 9 de 1852. 

(Firmado) M. DE ESPARZA. 

Senores Ministros de la Tesoreria General. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 351 

[Translation ] 
Department of Finance, Section 2, No. 37. 

Mexico, Fehruary 9, 1852. 
To give full force and effect to the conventions wLicli were concluded respec- 
tively on the 4th and 6th of December, 1851, by her Britannic Majesty's 
charge d'affaires and her Catholic Majesty's envoy extraordinary, in reference 
to the sinking funds and three per cent, interest, destined to pay off gradually 
certain British claims which have been recognized by the government, as well 
as those of the Philippine missionaries, represented by the Eeverend Francis 
J. Moran, and now in the hands of Mr. Rubio, his excellency the president has 
been pleased to ordain that the general treasury do make known to the maritime 
custom-houses that 12 per cent, of the import duties is to be set apart for the 
present requirements of the sinking funds and interest of both conventions, the 
amount produced by this 12 per cent, to be remitted without any kind of delay 
to the general treasury by bills payable, as the custom-house taiiff directs, in 
favor of Messrs. Martinez del Rio, the appointed agents of the respective cred- 
itors, who will receive these bills from the treasury and apply them to the 
purposes for which they are intended, the treasury having, previous to their 
liquidation, taken an accotmt of the several sums thus handed over for the pay- 
ment of the above-mentioned credits. 

Owing to the present state of Yucatan, it will be impossible for the moment 
to set aside 12 per cent, of import duties in the maritime custom-houses of 0am- 
peche and Sisal, as this would tend to diminish the resources required for the 
maintenance of the troops now engaged in the Yucatan war, and consequently 
his excellency the president has further ordained that, until the said custom- 
houses are in a position to make this assignment of 12 per cent, they are simply 
to notify to the treasury every month the amount that it has actually produced, 
and the equivalent will then be paid from the free portion of the revenue at the 
custom-house of Vera Oruz. 

The president wishes that the stipulations of the above-mentioned conventions 
should be can-ied out in a manner befiting the national honor. The authorities, 
therefore, of the several custom-houses must be especially enjoined punctually 
to carry out the conditions of this order, and in no case to employ for other 
purposes the moneys belonging to the convention funds, as any omission or 
shortcomings on their part would cause his excellency displeasure, and obhge 
him to act accordingly. 

All which I am commanded to communicate to the general treasury for their 
guidance in carrying into effect the above order. 

God and liberty. 

M. DE ESPARZA. 

The Commissioners of the General Treasury. 



Enclosnre 7 in No. 43. 
Messrs. Martinez del Rio to Mr. Mathew. 

Mexico, May 24, 1861. 
Sir : "We beg leave to request that you will have the goodness to infoiTu us 
whether the additional five per cent, assigned in virtue of the arrangement made 
by Captain Aldham for repaying the amount taken by the Mexican government 



352 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

is to be applied exclusively to the British convention, or to that of the Padre 
Moran as well ? 

As the money seized by the Mexican government belonged to the two con- 
ventions, and the extra assignment was intended to repay that money, we are 
in doubt how the said five per cent, is to be considered, and shall feel much 
obliged by your informing us in what manner we are to act. 
We have, &c., 

MARTINEZ DEL EIO, 
Agents for the 'British Convention. 



Enclosure 8 in No. 43. 
Mr. Mathew to Messrs. Martinez del Rio. 

Mexico, May 24, 1861. 

Gentlemen : In reply to your letter of this date, I have no hesitation in 
stating that the steps taken by Captain Aldham, at my request, with respect to 
the repayment of the sums due to the British convention, referred solely to that 
fund and not to the convention of the Padre Moran, of which you happen to be 
also agents, and which is, I believe, under Spanish protection, 
I am, &c., 

GEORGE B. MATHEW. 



Enclosure 9 in No. 43. 

The Minister of Finance to Messrs. Martinez del Rio. 

[Translation.] 

Mexico, June 14, 1S60. 

In reply to your communication of the 5th instant, respecting certain bonds 
issued to Mr. Henry Dalton by the general treasury as if belonging to the 
British convention, the supreme government has desired me to tell you that 
there are documents existing in this department proving that, by the consent 
of Mr. Dalton himself, the bonds which were issued to him could in no way 
affect the British convention fund ; consequently, this gentleman may present 
himself before the supreme government whenever he likes to do so, and establish 
the right of his claim, it being understood that such claim, be its present con- 
dition what it may, cannot affect the interests of the aforesaid convention. 

God and liberty. 

TOVAR. 



No. 44. 
Sir C. Wyke to Lord J. Russell. 

Mexico, August 27, 1861. 

My Lord : During the past month the position of affairs has not materially 
changed in this country, where the hatred and contempt felt for the government 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 606 

eeem daily to increase. Murders and robberies continue to be perpetrated with 
tlie greatest impunity, and tlie precincts of a legation have not saved the French 
minister from an attack on his life, as already reported to your lordship in a 
former despatch. 

On the 3d instant the diligence arrived from Pachuca containing a wounded 
Frenchman, who subsequently died, and the dead body of poor Mrs. Chawner, 
a pretty young Englishwoman of only twenty-four years of age, who, with her 
husband, was coming to Mexico from the mines of Real del Monte, where he 
has been employed for some time past as a laborer. They were attacked by 
robbers at about six leagues from this city, who, having been beaten off by the 
other passengers, have not again been heard of. Since then, an Englishman of 
the nsime of Mathews has been stabbed in one of the most frequented streets of 
this capital, and other foreigners have been similarly assaulted, but no further 
deaths have occurred that I am aware of. In all these cases the assailants have 
come off with perfect impunity, and the government has not even had the de- 
cency to express regret for these outrages, which they are apparently unwilling 
or unable to prevent. 

A more disgraceful state of things than that now existing here it is impossible 
to conceive in any country pretending to call itself a civilized nation. Mrs. 
Chawner was the daughter of Stephen Bennett, who was murdered at Pachuca 
in the month of April last. 

General Ortega, who, at the head of a considerable force, has for the last two 
months been vainly endeavoring to put down the rebellion, at length surprised 
Marquez at Jalatlaco on the night of the 12th or 13th instant, when he suc- 
ceeded in capturing some guns and making seventy or eighty prisoners, Marquez 
escaping in the confusion, with the rest of his forces. 

Instead of following up his success, Ortega immediately returned to Mexico, 
and thus left Marquez at liberty to reorganize his defeated troops and effect a 
junction with Mejia, and they both now hold their old position with between 
6,000 and 7,000 men. 

The friends of Ortega have taken advantage of his pretended success to bring 
him forward as a candidate for the presidency, and, as all parties are thoroughly 
disgusted with Juarez, it is not improbable that they may succeed, if any legal 
means can be found of getting rid of the latter. Congress has been summoned to 
meet on the 30th, when, doubtless, some effort will be made ia the sense indicated. 

In the meantime Don Ignacio Comonfort, ex-president of the republic, has 
arrived at Monterey, and is supposed to be intriguing with Doblado, Vidaurri, 
and several other governors of States in that part of the country, to put himself 
at the head of a coalition which would be strong enough, could Marquez and 
Mejia, as chiefs of the reactionary party, be got rid of, to upset Juarez and 
counteract Ortega. Many people assert that Doblado, who is governor of Guana- 
juato, and, as such, at the head of 8,000 men, is working for himself and using 
Comonfort as a tool; but I believe nobody here knows really what is going on, 
except that all feel certain that something is about to occur, for the present state 
of things cannot last much longer. 

The civil war now raging, and the weakness of the government, have encour- 
aged the Indian population to rise against the whites at Ixmiquilpam, about 
twenty leagues from here, where they have committed dreadful atrocities, thus 
adding a new element of discord and misery to those already existing. This 
movement, if not at once checked, may lead to terrible results, as the immense 
majority of the inhabitants of this republic belong to the Indian race, Mdiich, if 
properly led, is quite strong enough utterly to exterminate the degenerated and 
vitiated descendants of the old Spanish conquerors. 

The tax on capital now being levied, of which I have treated in a separate 
despatch, has only tended still further to discredit the government and increase 
the number of its enemies, as nobody now can tell when he may not be called 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 23 



351 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

on to supply the necessities of an administration which is as rapacious as it is 
dishonest and incapable. 

The decree of the 17th ultimo has had the effect of paralyzing all business at 
Vera Gruz, where the merchants refuse to remove their goods from the custom- 
house, and the govenimient is thus deprived of the duties which they expected 
to obtain free from any encumbrance. 

All the respectable classes look forward with hope to a foreign intervention 
as the sole means of saving them from ruin, and preventing a dissolution of the 
confederation, as well as a general rising of the Indians against the white popu- 
lation. If either Great Britain or France adopt coercive measures to obtain 
redress for the violation of the conventions, and the many other grievances we 
have to complain of, then the moderate party may take courage and be able to 
form a government which would afford some hope for the future ; but without 
such moral stipport and assistance they are afraid to move, and will remain the 
victims of the two contending factions, whose dissensions have already caused 
so much misery and bloodshed. 
I have, &c., 

0. LENNOX WYKE. 



No. 45. 
Earl Russell to Earl Cowley. 

[Extract ] 

Foreign Office, September 30, 1861. 

To forcible interference in the internal affairs of an independent nation her 
Majesty's government are, on principle, opposed. It remains to be considered 
whether Mexico forms an exception to the general rule. 

Undoubtedly, in regard to the evils to be remedied, few cases of internal 
anarchy, bloodshed, and murder can exceed the atrocities perpetrated in Mexico. 
But,, on the other hand, there is no case in which a remedy by foreign inter- 
ference appears so hopeless. 

The contending factioiijs are spread over a vast extent of country ; they do not 
obey any one, two, or three cliiefs, but are split into fr-agmeuts, each of which 
robs, pillages, and murders on its own account. No foreign army would be 
likely to establish any permanent or pervading authority over these scattered 
bodies. 

In the next place, the Spanish troops, which form the most available force for 
the occupation of any forts or positions which may be taken, are peculiarly an 
object of dislike and apprehension to one of the two parties which divide the 
country. This dislike arises from a fear that the power of a dominant church 
might be restored, with the abuses and religious intolerance which accompany 
it. For opposite reasons British interference would be just as odioufi to the 
church party. 

I may add to these reasons the universal alarm which would be excited, both 
in the United States and in the southern States, at the contemplation of Em-opean 
interference in the domestic quaiTcls of an American independent republic 

Without at all yielding to the extravagant pretensions implied by what is 
called the Monroe doctrine, it would be, as a matter of expediency, unwise to 
provoke the ill-feeling of North America, unless some paramount object were in 
prospect and tolerably sure of attainment. 

The Spanish government ai-e of opinion tliat the successful action of Great 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 355 

Britain, France, and Spain, to enforce tlieir just demands, wotild induce the Mex- 
icans to institute a government more capable than any which has lately existed 
to preserve the relations of peace and friendship with foreign powers. Should 
such be the indirect effect of naval and military operations, her Majesty's gov- 
ernment would cordially rejoice ; but they think this effect is more likely to 
follow a conduct studiously observant of the respect due to an independent na- 
tion, than to be the result of an attempt to improve by foreign force the domestic 
institutions of Mexico. 



No. 46. 

Earl Cowley to Earl RusselL 

[Extract.] 



Paris, October 2, 1861. 

M. Thouvenel having been in the countiy when I received your lordship's 
instructions to communicate to him your despatch of the 27th ultimo, containino- 
an account of a conversation which you had had with Mr. Adams on the affaiil 
of Mexico and the views of her Majesty's government as to the course which 
should be pursued, I sent him a copy of it. 

An opportunity for seeing him did not occur until to-day, and I had in the 
meantime received yoiu- lordship's despatch of the 30th ultimo, relating to the 
employment of a foreign force ui that country, which I read to his excellency 
before our conversation commenced. 

M. Thouvenel said that he had made no proposal to impose, or to influence 
by an armed force, an arbitration in the internal affairs of Mexico. He had 
thought it very likely that the employment of force for those legitimate pur- 
poses which the British and French governments had in view might encourao^ 
the well-disposed part of the Mexican people, who might feel the gall of the 
yoke to which they were subjected, to profit by the moment to throw it off and 
to substitute something better in its place; and he must confess that, should 
such turn out to be the case, he did not see why a movement of the kind, if it 
proved to be decidedly popular, should not receive the support of the pmvei-s 
who had come to Mexico to seek from an acknowledged bad government redress 
for injm-ies done to their subjects and for violated engagements towards them- 
selves. 

While, therefore, partaking in principle yoiu- lordship's views, and admitting 
the inexpediency of forcible interference m the internal affairs of an independent 
nation, he drew a distinction between forcible interference and the indirect 
encouragement, arising out of the presence of forces called to those shores for 
othei- piurposes, given to the Mexican people to emerge from an odious tyranny. 



No. 47. 

Earl Russell to Earl Cmclet/. 

Foreign Office, October 5, 1861. 
My Lord : I have to acqaaint your excellency that the Queen is prepared to 
enter into a convention with France and Spain, the object of which would be to 
secure the fulfilment by the govenuneut of Mexico of its obligations towards 



356 THE PRESENT CONDITION OP MEXICO. 

tlie respective governments, and to obtain redress for injuries done in Mexico to 
tlieir respective subjects. 

In the opinion of ber Majesty's government it -would be proper to insert in 
any sucb convention a stipulation providing tbat tbe forces of the contracting 
parties shall not be employed for any other objects than those which I have 
specified, and especially that they shall not interfere with the internal govern- 
ment of Mexico. 

Her Majesty's government consider that the government of the United States 
should be invited to adhere to any such convention ; but they would not think 
it necessary that, in anticipation of meeting with the concurrence of the United 
States, the three powers should defer the commencement of the contemplated 
operations against Mexico. 

If the government of the Emperor should be willing to enter into such a 
convention as I have described, a draught of it shall forthwith be sent to your 
excellency for communication to M. Thouvenel. 

I have directed Sir John Crampton to make a similar overture to the Spanish 
government. 

I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No. 48. 
Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, October 5, 1861. 

Sir : I have to acquaint you that the Queen is prepared to enter into a con- 
vention with France and Spain, the object of which would be to secure the 
fulfilment by the government of Mexico of its obligations towards the respective 
governments, and to obtain redress for injuries done in Mexico to their respective 
subjects. 

In the opinion of her Majesty's government it would be proper to insert in 
any such convention a stipulation providing that the forces of the contracting 
parties should not be employed for any other objects than those which I have 
specified, and especially that they should not interfere with the internal govern- 
ment of Mexico. 

Her Majesty's government consider that the government of the United States 
should be invited to adhere to any such convention ; but they would not think 
it necessary that, in anticipation of meeting with the concurrence of the United 
States, the three powers should defer the commencement of the contemplated 
operations against Mexico. 

If the government of her Catholic Majesty should be willing to enter into such 
a convention as I have described, a draught of it shall forthwith be sent to you for 
communication to Marshal O'Donnell. 

I have directed Earl Cowley to make a similar overture to the French govern- 
ment. 

I am, &c., 

KUSSELL. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 357 

No. 49. 
Sir J. Crampton to 'Earl RusseU. 

San Ildefonso, September 21, 1861. 

My Lord : On the receipt of your lordship's telegram I lost no time in 
making tlie inquiry therein directed, as to whether the Spanish government 
would object to ask the United States to act in concert with England and 
France in relation to the affairs of Mexico. 

Marshal O'Donnell, without saying anything which implied an opinion that 
the co-operation of the United States in this matter would in itself he objection- 
able, observed that the government of that country was probably too much 
engrossed in its internal affairs to be able at the present moment to direct its 
attention elsewhere ; and added that the Spanish government, which had 
already displayed great patience under extraordinary provocation, could at all 
events not now postpone the measures which it had determined to adopt, and 
which were called for by the country in vindication of its rights. 

Spain, the marshal observed, by inviting England and France to join with 
her in a common line of action in Mexico, had given sufficient proof that she did 
not desire to secure to herself any exclusive advantages in that country, and still 
less that she designed to avail herself of its distracted condition with a view to 
the conquest or reannexation of any part of it. 

In his opinion nothiag could be more detrimental to the true interests of Spain 
than the recovery of her ancient possessions in America ; whatever may have 
been the sentiments of former governments of Spain, a sounder view of this 
matter was now, he thought, well established in the minds of all persons who 
had duly reflected upon the subject With regard to Cuba and the Philippines 
it was different, because their insular position and other circumstances still 
rendered their position advantageous to the mother country ; but to seek to 
extend her dominion on the continent of America would be a most mistaken 
policy for Spain, even if circumstances were to favor its practicability. The 
recent acquisition of Spain in Santo Domingo might, his excellency remarked, 
appear to be a deviation from this principle ; but the proximity of Santo Domingo 
to Cuba rendered it a point from which the safety of the latter might be menaced 
were it to fall into the hands of parties hostile to Spain. 

I took occasion to remark that, although I was not in possession of your 
lordsh.ip's views upon this subject, farther than they might be inferred fk»m 
the question I had just put to his excellency, there were circumstances which, 
in my opinion, rendered it desirable that the government of the United States 
should, at all events, be invited to act in concert with the European powers in 
regard to Mexico. The extreme jealousy felt by every political party in America 
in regard to intei-vention or interference of any sort by European powers in the 
affairs of the New World was well known. Her Majesty's government, it was 
true, could never recognize what was commonly called, the " Mom-oe doctrine," 
nor did I believe that any other European government was likely to subscribe 
to it. But the repeated announcement of this maxim by successive Presidents 
of the United States as a fundamental principle of thek policy, and its eager 
acceptance as such by the American people, rendered it sufficiently evident that 
European intervention in the affairs of Mexico would be viewed by them as an 
infringement of an imagined right, and if now undertaken without their being 
consulted, and at a time when it would appear to them that advantage was 
taken of their internal troubles to make light of their influence, and perhaps to 
realize projects repugnant to their political sympathies, a strong fceliug of 
resentment would not fail to bo created, in which both sections of the now 
divided Union would concur. Although this feeling might not, under present 



358 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

circumstances, manifest itself in measures of actual hostility, influences could, 
nevertheless, be brought to bear by parties in the United States upon the 
affairs of Mexico, sufficiently powerful to cause embarrassment to Spain or any 
other European power which had a political object to achieve in that country. 

Marshal O'Donnell did not deny that there was some force in these con- 
siderations, and replied that as it was no part of the design of Spain to take 
advantage of the powerless condition of the United States with a view of either 
reconquering Mexico or of re-establishing monarchy there, he did not see that 
there existed any positive objection to the concurrence of the United States in 
the measures proposed by Spain. With regard to the expediency, however, of 
a proposal to that effect being made by Spain to the United States, he would 
re^juest me to speak with M. Oalderon Collantes, when the question would be 
brought by that minister under the unmediate consideration of the cabinet. 

On communicating with M. Oalderon OoUantes I found his excellency in no 
way mdisposed to take the subject into consideration, and he promised shortly 
to inform me of the decision of the cabinet. M. Oalderon did not seem to an- 
ticipate any objection to the proposalof her Majesty's government to invite the 
United States to join in a common line of action with Great Britain, France, 
and Spain. His excellency, however, made the same reserve as Marshal 
O'Donnell had done, viz : that Spain could in no case postpone her action in 
order to secure the co-operation of the American government. 
I have, &c., 

JOHN F. CRAMPTON. 



No. 50. 

Sir J. Crampton to Earl Russell. 

[Extract ] 

San Ildefonso, September 24, 1861. 

I took the earliest opportunity after the receipt of your lordship's telegram to 
call Marshal O'Donnell's attention to the rights of her Majesty's government 
upon the customs revenue of Vera Oruz and Tampico. 

These rights, I observed, were sanctioned by a convention with Mexico ; and 
her Majesty's government had claimed of the Mexican government that the 
customs of those ports should be placed under the control of British commis- 
sioners with a view to the satisfaction of British claims, it being understood that- 
those connnissioners should also pay the sxmis due by Mexico to other nations, 
and which were guaranteed by mortgage on the revenues of the same customs, 

I added that I made this commimication by direction of her Majesty's gov- 
ernment, in order to avoid any misunderstanding which might arise in regard to 
the rights of Great Britain at Vera Oruz and Tampico in ease Spain should 
find it necessary to take military posseasion of those ports. 

Marshal O'Donnell replied tliat in case it was found necessary to occupy 
Vera Oruz and Tampico, and that such occupation was effected by the combined 
action of England, France, and Spain, as he hoped would be the case, the three 
powers would have no difficulty in apportioning their respective claims upon 
the customs revenues there collected under their authority. If, on the other 
hand, Spain were to act alone and to hold possession of Vera Oniz and Tampico, 
she would not on that account be the less ready to recognize, and to the best of 
her power enforce, the legitimate rights which Gre^t Britain and other friendly 
powers might have previously acquired there. As matters now stood, it ap- 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 359 

peared that Mexico, by an act of her congress, Iiacl repudiated the claims of all 
nations upon her custom-house revenues, and conseq[uently the blockade or 
militaiy occupation of her ports by Spain could not, by causing a suspension of 
commerce, place the interests of the parties to whom their customs revenue was 
pledged in a worse position than they now were ; but if Spain were thus enabled 
to enforce her own claims, she would undoubtedly respect those of other nations. 

Marshal O'Donnell expressed the opinion that if England, France, and Spain 
were to combine their forces no resistance would be attempted by Mexico. If 
Spain acted alone it might be otherwise, and this made him desire that a com- 
mon line of action might be agreed upon. 

This being his view, I inquired whether the Spanish government would not 
consent to defer its action until Great Britain and France could concert together 
as to the best measures to be taken. 

Marshal O'Donnell replied that paramount considerations rendered it impos- 
sible for Spain to consent to delay the measures she had decided upon beyond 
the period which he had previously mentioned to me, viz : the beginning of 
November, before which time naval or military operations on the coasts of 
Mexico could not be undertaken, on account of the prevalence of the yellow 
fever and the West India hm-ricanes. 

The grievances of which the Spanish government had to complain were of 
long standing, and they had waited with patience for more than six months in 
the vain hope of some satisfaction for them being afforded, and more especially 
for the indignity offered in the dismissal of the Spanish minister from Mexico, 
Cortes would assemble in the course of next month, and the Spanish government 
v/ould be unable to justify themselves before that body and the nation if they 
were to defer, beyond what was rendered necessary by material obstacles, the 
vindication of its rights and dignity. 

This inevitable delay would, however, he expressed the hope, afford time for 
England and France to concert together, and with Spain, the measures necessary 
for combined action. 

Marshal O'Donnell renewed to me on this occasion the assurances he had 
formerly given, that Spain had no views of conquest upon Mexico, and that he 
was entirely opposed to the notion of re-establishing, by foreign influence, a 
monarchical form of government in that country, or otherwise meddling with 
the internal administration of its government. 



No. 51. 
Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 



Paris, Octoher 10, 1861. 

I saw M. Thouvenel this afternoon on the subject of the proposed convention 
for regulating the joint action of Great Britain, France, and Spain in the expe- 
dition to be undertaken against Mexico, and I read to him your lordship's 
despatch of the 5th instant upon this subject received this morning. 

]\r. Thouvenel said that he Avas quite ready to join her Majesty's government 
in signing a convention for the purposes recited by your lordship ; that lie agreed 
entirely in the principles which your lordship had laid down as those which 
should guide the action of the allied powers. 

M. Thouvenel disclaimed, as he had done on a former occasion, any desire to 
impose any particular form of government in Mexico. 



360 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

No. 52. 

Earl Russell to Earl Cowley. 

[Extract.] 

Foreign Office, Octoher 12, 1861. 

I have received jom: excellency's despatch of the 10th instant, reporting jonr 
conversation with M. Thouvenel on the course which her Majesty's government 
proposed should be adopted towards Mexico by the governments of England, 
France, and Spain, as explained to you in my despatch of the 4th instant. 

I have to state to your excellency that her Majesty's government consider an 
engagement not to interfere by force in the internal affairs of Mexico to be an 
essential part of the convention. 

I understand from Sir John Crampton that, while reserving to themselves the 
right of exerting moral influence for the establishment of a better order of things 
in Mexico, the Spanish government agree with her Majesty's government that 
force ought not to be used for that purpose. 



No. 53. 

Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.]! 



Paris, Octoher 18, 1861. 

Sir: M. Thouvenel infoi-ms me that the Emperor is willing that M. de 
Flahault should negotiate the treaty concerning Mexico in London, and full 
powers will be sent to him on Tuesday next. 



No. 54. 
Sir J. Crampton to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Madrid, Octoher 9, 1861. 

On the receipt of your lordship's telegram of the 5th instant I sought an 
interview with Marshal O'Donnell, as well as with M. Calderon Collantes, and 
stated that her Majesty's government were prepared to enter into a convention 
with France and Spain for the purpose of obtaining reparation from Mexico for 
the injuries received by their respective subjects, and for securing the fulfilment 
of the obligations entered into by Mexico towards their respective governments. 

I observed that her Majesty's government proposed that it should be pro-' 
vided by an article of the convention, that the forces of the contracting parties 
axe not to be employed for any ulterior object, and especially that they are not 
to interfere with the internal government of Mexico. I said that her Majesty's 
government desire that the government of the United States should be invited 
to adhere to the convention; adduig, liowever, that her Majesty's government 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF ]^IEXICO. 361 

did not consider that any delay in tlie commencement of active operations ought 
to be pennitted on this account. 

Marshal O'Donnell replied that the proposal of her Majesty's government 
should be immediately submitted to the consideration of the cabinet. 

This was accordingly done, and M. Calderon Collantes, on the 8th instant, 
communicated to me the views of her Catholic Majesty's government in regard 
to' the proposed convention. 

The Spanish government, M. Calderon said, were very willing to conclude 
with England and France a convention for the objects which I had stated to him 
on the part of her Majesty's government. 

They agreed to the insertion of an article in the convention to the effect that 
the forces of the high contracting parties should not be employed for any ulterior 
object. Spain, his excellency remarked, had no such object in view ; she neither 
sought to reconquer any part of Mexico nor to re-establish a monarchical govern- 
ment there in favor of any European prince or other person ; nor had she any 
intention of endeavoring to place one or the other of the contending factions in 
Mexico at the head of the government of the republic. The Spanish govern- 
ment felt no difficulty, therefore, in concurring with her Majesty's government 
in the opinion that no armed intervention in the internal government of Mexico 
should be attempted. 

The only point, consequently, in regard to which he could perceive any shade 
of difference in the views of her Majesty's government and those of Spain in this 
respect was that her Catholic Majesty's government was of opinion that, con- 
sidering the great influence which must necessarily be exercised by the very 
presence of the combined forces of England, France, and Spain upon the internal 
state of Mexico, it would be well that they should endeavor to profit by the im- 
pression which could not fail to be created thereby upon the Mexican people, to 
exercise a moral influence upon the contending parties, with a view of inducing 
them to lay down their arms, and come to an understanding for the formation of 
a government which would ofier some guarantee to the allies for the fulfilment 
of the engagements of Mexico towards their respective governments, for a better 
observance of her international duties in future, and one which would afford 
some prospect, at least, of a cessation of the miseries to which that unfortunate 
country had so long been exposed. This, his excellency said, he thought the 
three powers were bound in honor to attempt, both on the groimds of humanity 
and of policy; and perhaps more on the ground of humanity than of policy. 
It was not generally borne in mind, M. Calderon remarked, that at the bottom 
of the civil strife in Mexico there was a contest between two races. The Spanish 
race Avas at all times in a minority in that coimtry; and, from natural causes, 
the disproportion between it and the original Indian race was continually 
increasing. If these causes continued to operate unchecked by the moral 
superiority of the European element, and were aggravated by a continual reciir- 
rence of' intestine struggles, there could be no dou.bt that the germs of civiliza- 
tion which had been originally planted by Spain would be crushed out, and the 
country would relapse into something of the same condition in which it was 
found by Hernan Cortez. This was a consummation which he thought the 
European powers ought to make at least an effort to prevent. 

I remarked, in reply, that I did not doubt her Majesty's government would 
entirely concur with his excellency in thinking that the object which he proposed 
to himself was both a politic and a humane one; and if by moral influence was 
meant the offer of advice to the Mexican government to refrain from ciA'il strife, 
her Majesty's government would, I felt sure, not hesitate now to do, conjoiutly 
with Spain and France, what they had done singly on more than one occasion. 
If, however, more than this was intended by the Spanish government, I confess 
I felt at a loss as to the means of effecting any real change in the state of Mexico 
without the application of actual force, or without exerting the influence of the 



362 THE' PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

intervening powers in favor of one or the other of the contending factions. 
Besides this, it appeared evident to me that the object proposed, if it were to be 
effected at all, must be the work of time, and, consequently, could not be effected 
within anj- definite period. I would, therefore, inquire whether the Spanish 
government contemplated the continuance of the occupation of the Mexican ports 
until such time as a government such as they should desire to see established in 
Mexico should be constituted. 

M. Calderou replied, certainly not; the Spanish occupation would be limited 
to what was necessary for obtaining the redress of wrongs inflicted upon Spanish 
subjects, and satisfaction for acts inconsistent with the rights and dignity of the 
Spanish government; and would, if possible, not be prolonged beyond the 
period at which tlie climate would render the stay of the troops and vessels 
dangerous to their health and safety. 



No. 55. 

Lord LyoTis to Earl Rtcssell. 

[Extract.] 



Washington, October 14, 1861. 

I had the day before yesterday the honor to receive your lordship's despatch 
of the 28th ultimo, relative to the affairs of Mexico. 

I had, a few hours later in the day, an interview yfixh Mr. Seward. In the 
course of conversation he introduced the subject of Mexico. I found that he 
had not yet received Mr. Adams's I'eport of the conversation v/hich he held with 
your lordship on the 25th ultimo, concerning the proposal of the United States 
to assume the payment of the interest of the Mexican debt to Great Britain and 
France, 

He told me that he had already sent instructions to the United States 
ministers in London and Paris which would enlarge their powers of negotiation, 
and which would in pai-ticular enable them to engage that the United States 
should provide for the interest of the debt to Spain, and also for the satisfaction, 
to a certain extent, (as I understood,) of the general claims of Great Britain, 
France, and Spain, upon Mexico. He was, he said, on the point of sending 
similar instructions to the United States minister at Madrid. He had been 
informed that the Spanish government having heard that England and France 
were about to intervene in Mexico, had determined to be beforehand with them, 
and had already prepared an expedition, which was ready to sail from Cuba, 
Would it not be wise to avoid the complications which could not biit folloAv such 
an expedition, by assenting to an arrangement which would provide for the 
material interests of the three European powers, and postpone to a more favor- 
able moment difficult and dangerous questions ? 

I said to Mr. Seward that I presumed that he would receive in the course of 
the day reports from Mr. Adams and Mr. Dayton of the manner in which his 
proposals had been received by your lordship and M. Thouvenel. He would, I 
observed, find that grave objections to them were entertained both in London 
and in Paris. I proceeded, in obedience to your lordship's instructions, to speak 
to Mr. Seward in the sense in which your lordship had spoken to Mr. Adams, 
as set forth in your despatch to Earl Oowley, dated the 27th ultimo. I said in 
particular that her Majesty's government were as apprehensive as Mr. Seward 
himself could be of an attempt to build upon a foundation of debts due and 
injuries inflicted by Mexico a pretension to establish a new government in that 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 363 

conntrj. Her Majesty's government thought, however, (I proceeded to observe,) 
tliat the most effectual mode of guarding against this danger would be for Great 
■Britain, the United States, and France to join Spain in a coiirse of action the 
objects and limits of which should be strictly defined beforehand. This certainly 
appeared more prudent than to allow Spain to act alone now, and afterwards to 
oppose the results of her operations if she should go too far. 

Mr. Seward appeared to be unwilling to abandon his own plan, which would, 
he said, have the advantage of rendering all interference on the part of European 
powers in the affairs of Mexico entirely superfluous. 



No. 56. 

Sir C. Wyke to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, Septeinher 29, 1861. 

During the past month nothing of any particular importance has taken place 
here. The opposition, after endeavoring to get rid of President Juarez, has 
been crippled by the desertion of twelve of its members, and parties in con- 
gress have become equalized, and each now prevents the other from carrying 
any measure of an important character. 

General Ortega, after his unsuccessful campaign against Marquez, was deprived 
of his command, and has now returned to his . native State of Zacatecas, of 
which he is governor. His rival, General Doblado, has succeeded hun as com- 
mander-in-chief of the forces, and is abotit, in his turn, to attack Marquez and 
the other chiefs of the reactionary party, who still remain at the head of between 
7,000 and 8,000 men, with which they have hitherto completely baffled all the 
efforts of the government to subdue them. 

The executive has lost all real authority over the different States of the con- 
federation, which are now vktually independent, and, whenever it suits them, set 
at defiance any orders they may receive from the supreme government. 

Some anxiety is beginning to be felt as to the measures likely to be adopted 
by England and France, in consequence of the violation of the diplomatic con- 
ventions; but these people console themselves with the reflection that " when 
the day cometh sufficient is the evil thereof." 

Sliould the different ports be occupied by our naval forces, they propose to 
withdraw the custom-houses further inland, with a view of levying duties on all 
goods proceeding from the coasts to the capital. This is a project which they 
will find some difficulty in carrying out, from their utter want of system and 
regular organization. 

With the moral support given by our occupation to the moderate and respect- 
able party, they will j)robably be strong enough to turn out the present admin- 
istration and form a government which would be glad to treat with us, and thus 
re-establish those friendly relations with foreign powers bo necessary to the real 
welfare of the republic 



364 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 57. 

Earl Russell to tlie Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 

Foreign Office, October 30, 1861. 
My Lords : I am commanded by tlie Queen to signify to your lordships her 
Majesty's pleasure, that with a view to the operations on the coast of Mexico, 
to be carried out by the combined forces of England, France, and Spain, her 
Majesty's squadron on the North American and West Indian station should, as 
soon as convenient, be re-enforced, and a detachment of 700 supernumerary 
marines should be embarked on board the squadron. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No, 58. 
Lord Lyons to Earl Russell. 



Washington, October 17, 1861. 

My Lord: Mr. Seward mentioned to me yesterday that he had received a 
despatch from Mr, Adams, stating that he had waited upon your lordship in 
Scotland, and communicated to you the proposal that the United States should 
assume the payment of the interest on the foreign debt of Mexico. Mr. Seward 
told me that Mr. Adams reported that your lordship had not agreed to the pro- 
posal, but had stated your intention to make a counter proposal. This, Mr. 
Seward said, was perhaps as favorable a reception of his plan as could be ex- 
pected at the first moment. 

He proceeded to inform me that he had received a communication from M. 
Tassara, the Spanish minister here, stating that the expedition which Spain was 
prepared to send against Mexico was intended solely to seek redress for the 
wrongs suffered by Spain herself, and not at all to interfere with the internal 
affairs of Mexico, or to change the form of government in that country. 

Mr. Seward added that M. Tassara had further informed him that it was 
tinder consideration whether Spain should make the expedition alone or in con- 
junction with England and France. If the latter course Avere adopted, the con- 
cert of the United States would (M. Tassara had assured Mr. Seward) be invited 
by the three powers. 

Mr. Seward appeared to be very unwilling to admit that his own proposal to 
assume the payment of the interest of the debt was not likely to be accepted 
either in London, Paris, or Madrid. 
I have, &C., 

LYONS. 



No. 59. 
Earl Russell to the Lords Commissicniers of th£ Admiralty. 

Foreign Office, October 31, 1861, 

My Lords : I have the honor to acquaint your lordships that I have this day 
signed, on behalf of her Majesty, with the plenipotentiaries of France and Spain, 
a convention having for its object the adoption of measures of coercion against 



THE PRESENT, CONDITION OF MEXICO. 365 

Mexico for tlie protection of the persons and properties of the subjects of the 
respective States, and for securing a fulfilment of the obligations contracted by 
the republic of Mexico towards the sovereigns of Great Britain, France, and 
Spain. 

In pursuance of the provisions of this convention the contracting powers pro- 
pose to employ on the coast of Mexico a sufficient naval and military force, and 
I am accordingly to signify to yoiir lordships her Majesty's pleasure that a force 
consisting of two line-of-battle ships, four frigates, and an adequate number of 
smaller vessels, should be sent to Vera Cruz, and that a body of supernumerary 
marines, to the amount of 700 men, should be embarked on board those ships, 
with a view to their being landed and employed on shore, if circumstances should 
require it. 

I am further to signify to your lordships her Majesty's pleasure that the 
admiral, or other senior officer in command of this force, should be instructed to 
place himself in communication with the officers commanding the French and 
Spanish forces, and in concert with them to demand : 

1. Full satisfaction and reparation for the wrongs suflPered by the three nations ; 
and 

2. That the forts of Vera Cruz should be at once delivered up to the forces 
(rf the three nations as a guarantee for the performance of such conditions as 
may be agreed upon. 

I have further to state to your lordships that it is the intention of the three 
powers severally to name a commissioner to frame, in concert with the officer 
commanding the naval forces of the three powers, the articles an assent to which 
will be demanded of the Mexican government, or of the persons exercising 
authority in Mexico ; and that Sir Charles Wyke, her Majesty's envoy extraor- 
dinary and minister plenipotentiary, will be empowered to act as commissioner 
on behalf of her Majesty, and with that view he will be instructed to embark 
on board the ship of the British admiral, or of the officer in command of her 
Majesty's forces. 

The troops and marines of the combined forces will remain in possession of 
the forts of Vera Cruz a,nd other forts, if taken, until further order. 

Her Majesty has been pleased, likewise, to signify her pleasure that Rear- Ad- 
miral Maitland should be instructed to possess himself of the harbor of Aca- 
pulco, or any other port on the Pacific coast of Mexico, with the exception of 
Mazatlan, which he may consider necessary to occupy with a view to secure the 
objects of the convention; but Mazatlan is not to be occupied without special 
orders. 

I enclose, for your lordships' information, a copy of the convention* under 
which these operations are to be carried out, although some days must elapse 
before the ratifications of it can be exchanged. 
I am, &c., 

RUSSELL. 



No. 60. 

Earl Russell to Sir C. Wyke. 

Foreign Office, October SI, 18G1. 
Sir : I transmit to you herewith confidentially, inasmuch as the ratifications 
of it have not yet been exchanged, a copy of a convention* which I have 
signed this day with the plenipotentiaries of France and Spain respecting the 

** Eaclosure m No. 60. 



366 THE PEESENT CONDITION OP MEXICO. 

measures of coercion whicli England, France, and Spain are prepared jointly to 
adopt for tlie protection of the persons and properties of their respective sub- 
jects in Mexico, and for securing the fulfilment of the obligations contracted by 
the republic of Mexico towards the respective sovereigns. 

I also enclose a copy of a letter which I have addressed to the lords commis- 
sioners of the admiralty,* signifying her Majesty's pleasure as to the measures 
to be taken on the part of her Majesty in fulfilment of the engagements under- 
taken by her in this convention; and in conformity with what is stated in' my 
letter, I have to instruct you to embark on board the ship of the admiral or 
of the senior officer commanding her Majesty's ships, and at the proper time to 
undertake the duties of commissioner on behalf of her Majesty under the 
convention, and to frame, in concert with Admiral Milne, and with the commis- 
sioners of France and Spain, and the officers commanding the naval forces of 
tliose two countries, the articles an assent to which will be demanded of the 
Mexican government, or of the persons exercising authority in Mexico. 

You will instruct her Majesty's consuls at the ports which may be determined 
on, to collect, in concert with the French and Spanish consuls at those ports, 
tlie customs duties, and to pay them over according to such rules as the com- 
missioners may jointly lay down. 
I am, &c., 

KUSSELL. 



Enclosure in No . 60. 



Convention hetiveen her Majesty, the Queen of Spain, and the Emperor of tlie 
French, relative to combined operations against Mexico, signed at London, 
October 31, 186l,t 

Sa Majeste la Reine du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, 
sa Majeste la Seine d'Espagne, et sa Majeste I'Empereur des Fran^ais, se 
trouvant placees par la conduite arbiti'aire et vexatoire des autorites de la repub- 
lique du Slexique dans la necessite d'exiger de ces autorites une protection plus 
efficace pour les personnes et les proprietes de leurs sujets, ainsi que I'execution 
des obligations contractees envers elles par la republique du Mexique, se sont 
entendues pour conclure entre elles une convention dans le but de combiner leur 
a>ction commune, etj a cet effet, ont nomm^ pou.r leurs pl(5nipotentiaires, savoir : 

Sa Majeste la Reine du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, 
le tres honorable Jean Comte Russell, Vicomte Amberley de Amberley et Ard- 
salla, pair du Royaume Uni, conseiller de sa Majestd Britannique en son conseil 
prive, principal secretaire d'dtat de sa Majestd, pour les affaires, etrangeres; 

SaMajeste la Reine d'Espagne, Don Xavier de Isturiz y Montero, chevalier 
de I'ordre insigne du toison d'or, grand croix de I'ordre royal et distingue de 
Charles III, de I'ordre imperial de la legion d'honneur de France, des ordres de 
la conception de Villaviciosa et Christ de Portugal, senateur du Royaume, 
ancieu president du conseil de ministres et premier secrf^taire d'etat de sa 
Majeste Oatholique, et son envoye extraordinaire et ministre plenipotentiaire 
pres sa Majeste Britannique; 

Et sa Majestd I'Empereur des Frau^ais, son excellence le Comte de Flahault 
de la Billarderie, senateur, general de division, gTand croix de la legion d'hon- 
neur, ambassadeur extraordinaire de sa Majesty Imperiale pres sa Majestd 
Britannique; 

Lesquels, apres s'etre communique reciproquement leurs pleins pouvoirs re- 
Bpectifs, trouves en bonne et due forme, sont tomb^ d'accord pour arreter les 
articles suivants: 

®No. 59. fEatifications exchanged at London NoTcmber 15, 1861. 



THE PHESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 367 



Article I. 

Sa Majeste la Reine du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, 
sa Maje.st(i la Reiue d'Espagne, et sa Majestd I'Empereur des Franyais, s'en- 
gageut a arreter atissitot aprys la signature de la prt^sente convention, les dis- 
positions necessaires pour euvoyer sur les cotes du Mexicjue des forces de teiTe 
et do mer conibinees dont I'eflPectif sera determine par iin ^change ulterieur de 
communications entre leurs gouvernemeuts, mais dont I'ensemble devra dtre 
suffisant pour pouvoir saisir et occuper les difftirentes forteresses et positions 
militaires du littoral Mexicain. 

Les commandants des forces alli^^es seront, en ontre, autorisds h accomplir les 
autres operations qui seraient jugees, sur les lieux, les plus propres a realiser le 
but specific dans le preambule de la presente convention, et notamraent, a as- 
surer la sdcuritd des residents etrangers. 

Touts les mesures dont il s'agit dans cet article eeront prises au nom et pour 
le cOmpte des hautes parties contractantes, sans acception de la nationality par- 
ticuliei-e des forces employees a les exccuter. 

Article II. 

Les liautes parties contractantes s'engagent k ne recherclier pour elles-mdmes, 
dans I'emploi des mesures coercitives prevues par la prdsente convention, aucune 
acquisition de territoire ni aucun avantage particulier, et k n'exercer, dans les 
affaires interieures du Mexique, aucune influence de nature k porter atteinte au 
droit de la nation Mexicaine de choisir et de constituer librement la forme de 
son gouvernemM.it. 

Article III. 

Une c/nmnissian composee de trois commissaires, un nomm^ par chacune des 
puissances contractantes, sera dtablie avec plein pouvoir de statuer sm* toutes les 
questions que pourrait soulever Temploi ou la distribution des sommes d'argent 
qui seront recouvi-ees an Mexique, en ayant dgard aux droits respectifs des trois 
parties contivactantes. 

Article IV. 

Les liautes parties contractantes d(^sirant, en outre, que les mesures qu'elles 
oat I'intention d'adoptcr n'aient pas un caractere exclusif, et sacliant que le 
gouveraenient desEtats Unis a, de son cote, des reclamations a faire valoir, comme 
elles, centre la rupubliquc Mexicaine, conviennent qu'aussitot aprfes la signatui'e 
de la presente convention, il en sera communique une copie au gouvernement des 
Etats Unis ; que ce gouvernement sera invite a y acctider ; et qu'en prevision de 
cette accession leurs ministrcs respectifs a Wasliington seront immediatement' 
munis de pleins pouvoirs a I'effet de conclure et de signer, collectivement ou 
separument, avec le plenipotentiaire designd par le President des Etats Unis, 
une convention identique, sauf suppression du present article, i\ celle qu'elles 
signent a la date de ce jour. Mais comme les Lautes parties contractantes 
s'exposeraient, en apportant quclque retard a la mise ^ exdcution des Ai'ticlea I 
et II de la priiscnte convention, a manquer le but qu'elles desirent atteindre, 
dies sont tombees d'accord de ne pas ctiffcrer, en atic d'obtenir I'accession du 
gouvernement Aci Etats Unis, le commencement des operations bus mentionudes 
au dela de I'dpoque a laquello leurs forces combiudes pouiTOut etre rdunics dans 
les parages de Vera Cruz. 



368 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Article V. 

La presente convention sera ratifiee, et les ratifications en seront ecliangdes k 
Londres, dans le delai de quinze jours. 

En foi de quoi les plenipotentiaires respectifs I'ont signd, et j ont appose le 
sceau de leurs armes. 

Fait a Londres, en triple original, le trente-tinieme jour du mois d'Octobre, 
de I'an de grace mil liuit cent soixante-un. 

[l. s.] RUSSELL. 

[l. s.] xavier de isturiz. 

[l. s.] FLAHAULT. 

. [Translation.] 

Her Majesty the Queen of tlie United Kingdom of Great Britain and L-eland, 
her Majesty the Queen of Spain, and his Majesty the Emperor of the French, 
feeling themselves compelled by the arbitrary and vexatious conduct of the 
authorities of the republic of Mexico to demand from those authorities more 
efficacious protection for the persons and properties of their subjects, as well as 
a fulfilment of the obligations contracted towards their Majesties by the republic 
of Mexico, have agreed to conclude a convention with a view to combine their 
common action, and, for this purpose, have named as their plenipotentiaries, that 
is to say : 

Her Majesty the QueeA of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
the right honorable John Earl Russell, Viscount Amberley of Amberley and 
Ardsalla, a peer of the United Kingdom, a member of her Britannic Majesty's 
privy council, her Majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs; 

Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, Don Xavier de Isturiz j\ Montero, knight 
of the illustrious order of the golden fleece, grand cross of the royal and 
distinguished order of Charles III, of the imperial order of the legion of 
honor of France, of the orders of the conception of Villaviciosa and Christ of 
Portugal, senator of the kingdom, late president of the council of ministers, 
and first secretary of state of her Catholic Majesty, and her envoy extraordinary 
and minister plenipotentiary to her Britannic Majesty; 

And his Majesty the Emperor of the French, his excellency the Count de 
Flahault de la Billarderie, senator, general of division, grand cross of the 
legion of honor, his Imperial Majesty's ambassador extraordinary to her Bri- 
tannic Majesty; 

Who, after having reciprocally communicated their respective full powers, 
found m good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles : 

Article I. 

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
her Majesty the Queen of Spain, and his Majesty the Emperor of the French, 
engage to make, immediately after the signature of the present convention, the 
necessary arrangements for despatching to the coasts of Mexico combined naval 
and military forces, the strength of which shall be determined by a further in- 
terchange of communications between their governments, but of which the total 
shall be sufficient to seize and occupy the several fortresses and military positions 
on the Mexican coast. 

The commanders of the allied forces shall be, moreover, authorized to execute 
the other operations which may be considered, on the spot, most suitable to effect 
the object specified in the preamble of the present convention, and specifically 
to insure the security of foreign residents 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 369 

All the measures contemplated in this article shall be taken in the name and 
on account of the high contracting parties, without reference to the particular 
nationality of the forces employed to execute them. 

Article II. 

The high contractiag parties engage not to seek for themselves, in the employ- 
ment of the coercive measures contemplated by the present convention, any 
acquisition of territory nor any special advantage, and not to exercise in the 
internal affairs of Mexico any influence of a nature to prejudice the right of the 
Mexican nation to choose and to constitute freely the form of its government. 

Article III. 

A commission composed of three commissioners, one to be named by each of 
the contracting powers, shall be established with full authority to determine all 
questions that may arise as to the application or distribution of the sums of 
money which may be recovered from Mexico, having regard to the respective 
rights of the three contracting parties. 

Article IV. 

The high contracting parties desiring, moreover, that the measures which they 
intend to adopt should not bear an exclusive character, and being aware that the 
government of the United States on its part has, like them, claims to enforce 
upon the Mexican republic, agree that immediately after the signature of the 
present convention a copy thereof shall be communicated to the government of 
the United States; that that government shall be invited to 'accede to it; and 
that in anticipation of that accession then- respective ministers at Washington 
shall be at once furnished with full powers for the pui-pose of concluding and 
signing, collectively or separately, with the plenipotentiary designated by the 
President of the United States, a convention identic, save the suppression of the 
present article, with that which they sign this day. But as by delaying to put 
into execution articles first and second of the present convention the high con- 
tracting parties would incur a risk of failing in the object which they desire to 
attain, they have agreed not to defer, with the view of obtaining the accession 
of the government of the United States, the commencement of the above-men- 
tioned operations beyond the time at which their combined forces can be assem- 
bled in the neighborhood of Vera Cruz. 

Article V. 

The present convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications thereof shall be 
exchanged at London within fifteen days. 

In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed it, and have 
affixed thereto the seal of their arms. 

Done at London, in triplicate, the thirty -first day of the month of October, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundi-ed and sixty-one. 



L. S. 
L. s. 

L. S. 



RUSSELL. 

XAVIER DE ISTURIZ. 

FLAHAULT. 



H. Ex. Doc. 100 24 



370 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 61. 

Earl Russell to Ea7'l Coicley. 

Foreign Office, November 1, 1861. 
My Lord : I transmitli to you herewith a copy of a despatch which I have 
addressed to Sir C. Wyke,* directing him to repair to Jamaica, and from thence 
to proceed to join the admiral wherever he may he. 

I am, &c. 

EUSSELL. 



No. 62. 
Earl Russell to Sir C. Wyke. 

Foreign Office, Novemher 1, 1861. 

Sir : I have to instruct you forthwith to repair to Jamaica with all the mem- 
hers of her Majesty's mission. 

Admiral Milne has heen directed to send a ship-of-war without delay to Vera 
Cruz, to receive you on hoard and convey you and your suite to Jamaica; and 
subsequently to convey you and one of the attaches of her Majesty's mission 
from Jamaica to Bermuda, or wherever the admiral may he. 

You will leave the rest of the mission at Jamaica until you require their 
services. 

In joining the admiral you will embark on hoard the flag-ship. 

The admiral will deliver to you the further instructions for your guidance, 
which will be sent to his care. 



I am, &c. 



EUSSELL. 



No. 63. 

Earl Russell to Earl Cowley. 

Foreign Office, Novemher 1, 1861. 

My Lord: I transmit to your excellency herewith a copy of conventionf 
which I yesterday signed with the plenipotentiaries of France and Spain, on 
the subject of the measures to be adopted towards Mexico. 

I also enclose drafts of the instructions which, in order to give effect to the 
provisions of this convention, I have, by the Queen's commands, addressed to 
the board of admiralty and to her Majesty's minister in Mexico.^ I have com- 
mmiicated copies of these drafts to the French ambassador and Spanish minister. 
I shall instruct Sir Charles Wyke, by the mail of to-morrow, to repair to 
Jamaica, and there await further instructions. 

Her Majesty's naval forces, of which the expedition, so far as this country is 
concerned, is to be composed, are already, or will be shortly, at Bermuda ,• and 
I will inform Count Flahault, and will enable your excellency to apprise M. 
Thouvenel in what manner and at what place it may, in the opinion of the 

No. 62. t Enclosure in No. 60. % Nos. 59 and 60. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 371 

board of admiralty, be advisable tbat the tbree squadrons should unite, so as 
to proceed in company to tbe coast of Mexico. 

It will remaia for tbe tbree powers to instruct tbeir ministers at "Wasbington 
to make to tbe government of tbe United States tbe communication contem- 
plated by tbe 4tb article of tbe convention. Her Majesty's government propose 
to send tbeir instructions to Lord Lyons by tbe mail of tbe 9tb of November. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 

P. S. — Sir C. Wyke will receive bis furtber instructions on board tbe admi- 
ral's sbip. 



No. 64. 
Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton, 

Foreign Office, November 1, 1861. 

Sir : I transmit to you berewitb a copy of a convention* wbicb I yesterday 
signed witb tbe plenipotentiaries of France and Spain on tbe subject of tbe 
measures to be adopted towards Mexico. 

I also enclose drafts of tbe instructions wbicb, in order to give effect to tbe 
provisions of tbis convention, I bave, by tbe Queen's commands, addressed to 
tbe board of admiralty and to ber Majesty's minister in Mexico. + I bave 
communicated copies of tbese drafts to tbe Frencb ambassador and Spanisb 
minister. 

I sball instruct Sir 0. Wyke, by tbe mail of to-morrow, to repau' to Jamaica, 
and tbere await furtber instructions. 

Her Majesty's naval forces of wbicb tbe expedition, so far as tbis country is 
concerned, is to be composed, are'already, or will be sbortly, at Bermuda; and 
I will inform M. de Isturiz, and will enable you to apprise tbe Spanisb govern- 
ment, in wbat manner and at wbat place it may, in tbe opinion of tbe board of 
admiralty, be advisable tbat tbe tbree sc[uadrons sbould unite, so as to proceed 
in company to tbe coast of Mexico. 

It will remain for tbe tbree powers to instruct tbeir ministers at Wasbington 
to make to tbe government of tbe United States tbe communication contem- 
plated by tbe 4tb article of tbe convention. 

Her Majesty's government propose to send tbeir instructions to Lord Lyons 
by tbe mail of tbe 9tb of November. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. %5. 
Earl Russell to Earl Cowley. 

Foreign Office, November 1, 1861. 

My Lord : Witb reference to my previous despatcb of tbis day's dnte, | I 
enclose, for your excellency's information, and for communication to M. Tbou- 
venel, a draft of a furtber instruction wbicb it is my intention to address to Sir 
Charles Wyke witb reference to tbe 2d article of tbe convention respecting tbe ' 
measures to be taken towards Mexico. § 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 

^Enclosure in No. 60. f Nob. 69 and 60. % No.. 63. § No. 67. 



372 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

No. 66. 
Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, November 1, 1861. 

Sir : With reference to my previous despatcli of this day's date, I enclose^ 
for your information, and for communication to the Spanish government, a draft 
of a farther instrtiction which it is my intention to address to Sir C. Wyke 
with reference to the 2d article of the convention respecting the measures to be 
taken towards Mexico.* 
I am, &c. 

EUSSELL. 



No. 67. 
Earl Russell to Sir C. Wyke. 



Foreign Office, November 1, 1861. 

Sir : You should be most careful to observe with strictness article 2 of the 
convention signed yesterday between Great Britain, France, and Spain, by 
which it is provided that no influence shall be used in the internal affairs of 
Mexico calculated to prejudice the right of the Mexican nation freely to choose 
and establish its own form of government. 

Should any Mexican, or any party in Mexico, ask your advice on such sub- 
jects, you will say that any regular form of government which shall protect the 
lives and properties of natives and of foreigners, and shall not permit British 
subjects to be attacked or annoyed on account of their occupations, their rights 
of property, or their religion, will secure the moral support of the British gov- 
ernment. 

I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 68. 
The Secretary to the Ad?niralty to Mr. Hammond. 

Admiralty, November 1, 1861. 

Sir : Earl Russell having expressed his desire to be furnished with the views 
of my lords commissioners of the admiralty as to the most convenient rendez- 
vous for the combined English, French, and Spanish squadrons about to be sent 
to Mexico, I am commanded by their lordships to acquaint you as follows : 

The Spaniards having a good harbor at Havana, on the direct road to Vera 
Cruz, will probably assemble at that port. 

The French ships going from Europe will most likely touch at Guadalupe ; 
but as that island and Martinique are a long way from the entrance of the Gulf 
of Mexico, it seems probable that the French squadron would go on to Havana, 
or rather to Jamaica, as the more direct route, the latter island having the safe 
harbor of Port Royal, where water, coals, and provisions can be fiUed up. 

« No. 67. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 373 

The Englisli ships would also naturally assemble at Port Royal, and, assum- 
ing that the joint French and English squadrons meet there, the best rendezvous 
that could be given for the Spanish squadron to join them would be fifteen miles 
northwest of Cape St. Antonio, at the western end of Cuba. This cape is 
moderately high, and has a revolving light on it visible twenty miles, so that 
by night or by day it could be easily kept in sight. It is 175 miles, or one 
day's sail from Havana, and 540 miles, or three days' sail from Port Royal; and 
when the day of departure from Port Royal is fixed an aviso or despatch-vessel 
might be sent on the day before from Port Royal to Port Sagua, on the south 
coast of Cuba, (whence, no doubt, there is telegraphic communication to Havana,) 
to apprise the Spanish admiral. 

From Cape St. Antonio to Vera Cruz the distance is 650 miles, or rather more 
than three days' sail ; but there is no place on the coast of Mexico at which a 
convenient rendezvous could be given, and it seems desirable that the combined 
squadrons should approach the coast in company. 

When the "nortes" or "northers" blow, the anchorage of Anton Lizardo, 
about twelve miles southeast of Vera Cruz, will be found a safe shelter, with 
space for a large fleet. 
I am, &c. 

W. a. ROMAINE. 



No. 69. 
Earl Rtissell to Earl Cowley. 



Foreign Office, November 1, 1861. 

My Lord : I transmit to your excellency herewith, for communication to M. 
Thouvenel, a copy of a letter which I have received from the board of admiralty 
respecting the manner in which the junction of the allied squadrons on their 
way to the coast of Mexico should be effected.* 

The Count de Flahault has been informed of the substance of this letter. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 70. 
Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, Noveinber 1, 1861. 

Sir : I transmit to you herewith, for communication to the Spanish govern- 
ment, a copy of a letter which I have received from the board of admiralty 
respecting the manner in which the junction of the allied squadrons on their 
way to the coast of Mexico should be efiected,* 

M. de Isturiz has been informed of the contents of this memorandum. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 

c](^o. 68. 



374 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 71. 

Earl Russell to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 

Foreign Office, November 1, 1861. 
My Lords : Her Majesty lias been pleased to direct that a man-of-war should 
be at once sent to Vera Cruz to bring Sir 0. Wyke and the members of his 
mission to Jamaica. 

Sir 0. Wyke and one of his attaches should be conveyed from Jamaica to 
Bermuda, or wherever Admiral Sir A. Milne may be, and received on board his 
flag-ship, leaving the rest of the mission at Jamaica. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 72. 
Bir J. Crampton to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Madrid, Novemher 1, 1861. 
Marshal O'Donnell, in reply to my question as to the number of Spanish 
ships and troops intended to be sent on the expedition, replied that, as nearly as 
he could at present judge, the squadron would consist of 12 or 14 vessels, of 
different sizes, carrying altogether about 300 guns. These would be accompa- 
nied by two large steam transports, and the number of troops would amoxmt to 
between 4,000 and 5,000 men. 



No. 73. 
Mr. Hammond to the Secretary to the Admiralty. 

Foreign Office, November 6, 1861. 

Sir : I am directed by Earl Russell to request that you will acquaint the 
lords commissioners of the admiralty that he communicated to the French am- 
bassador the substance of your letter of the 1st instant, respecting the place at 
which the junction of the allied squadrons, about to proceed to Mexico, should 
be effected ; and that the French ambassador has informed me to-day that the 
French naval expedition will take its departure from France on Monday next, 
and will touch at the French colonies in the West Indies, and probably at Ja- 
maica, on its way to .Havana, where it is expected to arrive between the 15th 
and 20th of December. 

Arrangements have already been made for its obtaining provisions and sup- 
plies at Havana, which, it is calculated, it will require four or five days to em- 
bark, so that the French expedition will probably be able to proceed on the 20th 
or 25th of December to the point off Cape St. Antonio, at which it was proposed 
in yom- letter that the squadrons should imite. 
I am, &c. 

E. HAMMOND. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 375 

No. 74. 

Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 

Paris, November 5, 1861. 
My Lord : M. Dubois de Saligny is to be the French commissioner under 
ai-ticle third of the convention of the 31st ultimo. He will also be named first 
plenipotentiary with Admkal Jurien de la Graviere to frame, in concert with 
the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and Spain, the demands to be made on the 
Mexican government. His instructions are not yet ready, but M, Thouvenel 
about to occupy himself on them. 
I have, &c. 

COWLEY. 



No. 75. 
Earl Cowley to Earl B/nssell. 



Paris, Novemhcr 5, 1861. 

My Lord : I have communicated to M. Thouvenel, as instructed by your 
lordship's despatch of the 1st instant,* the draft of a further instruction, enclosed 
therein, which it is your lordship's intention to address to Sir Charles Wyke 
with reference to article 2 of the convention, respecting the measures to be taken 
towards Mexico, and his excellency expressed his full concurrence in them. 
I have, &c. 

COWLEY. 



No. 76. 
Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 



Paris, November 5, 1861. 

My Lord : M. Thouvenel had already received from M. de Flahault, before 
I could communicate them to his excellency, the observations of the board of 
admiralty respecting the manner in which the junction of the allied squadrons 
on their way to the coast of Mexico should be effected, to which your lordship's 
despatch of the 1st instantt relates. 

His excellency said that he had already spoken with the minister of marine, 
and had found that arrangements had been made for the French squadi'on to 
take its final departure for Mexico from the Havana, whence it could put to sea 
in company with the Spanish squadron. There was no objection to Cape St. 
Antonio as the rendezvous of the allied squadrons. 

The French squadron will leave Toulon on Monday next, but will call at 
Algiers to embark 500 Zouaves. The French admiral will then be enabled to 
land about 2,500 men. 
I have, &c. 

COWLEY. 

<^ No. 65. t No. 69. 



376 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



No. 77. 

Earl Russell to Loi'd Lyons. 

Foreign Office, November 6, 1861. 

My Lord : I transmit to you herewitli a copy of a convention* between her 
Majesty tlie Queen of Spain and tte Emperor of tlie Frencli, for combined 
operations against Mexico, which was signed at London on the 31st of October. 

Tour lordship will perceive that by article IV of this convention the con- 
tracting parties engage to communicate a copy of it to the government of the 
United States, and to invite that government to accede to it ; and that, in anti- 
cipation of its consenting to do so, the representatives of the three powers at 
Washington shall be immediately furnished with full powers authorizing them, 
either jointly or separately, to conclude and sign with the plenipotentiary who 
may be named by the President of the United States an identical convention, 
with the omission merely of article IV. 

I have accordingly to instruct your lordship to make a proposal to that effect 
to the Secretary of State of the United States, in such form as may be agi-eed 
upon between yourself and the French and Spanish ministers, and you will 
receive the requisite full power to enable you, either jointly with them or sep- 
arately, to sign the convention with a plenipotentiary of the United States. 

You will take care not to conclude this matter, either in form or substance, 
without coming to a complete and clear understanding with the French and 
Spanish ministers. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 78. 
M.r. Haramond to the Secretary to the Admiralty. 

Foreign Office, Novemher 7, 1861. 
Sir : I am directed by Earl Eussell, with reference to my letter of yesterday, 
to request that you will acquaint the lords commissioners of the admiralty 
that his lordship would suggest that Rear Admiral Milne should be instructed 
to assemble the ships of his squadron at Port Royal, Jamaica, and should settle 
with the commanders of the French and Spanish squadrons, which will assemble 
at the Havana, on what date the British squadron shall appear off Cape St. 
Antonio to effect a junction with them. 
I am, &c. 

E. HAMMOND. 



No. 79. 

Earl Russell to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 

* Foreign Office, Novemher 8, 1861. 

My Lords : With reference to my letter of the 31st of October, signifying 
to your lordships the Queen's commands as to the instructions to be given to 

* Enclosure in No. 60. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 377 

Rear Admiral Milne for tlie guidance of his conduct in regard to aflPairs of 
Mexico, and more particularly to that passage in those instructions in which I 
refer to "the intention of the three powers severally to. name a commissioner to 
frame, in concert with the officers commanding the naval forces of the three 
powers, the articles, an assent to which will be demanded of the Mexican gov- 
ernment, or of the persons exercising authority in Mexico," I have the honor 
to state to your lordships that Admiral Milne should be informed that, in the 
event of any difference of opinion between himself and Sir Charles Wyke as to 
the terms in which those articles should be framed, the opinion of Sir Charles 
Wyke, so far as Great Britain is concerned, should prevail. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 80. 

Earl Russell to Sir C. WyJce. 

[Extract ] 

Foreign Office, November 15, 1861. 

The instructions of the Emperor of the French are similar in substance to 
those which I have transmitted to you. 

The French government have contemplated a case of which I had net taken 
notice. It is supposed that the Mexicans may withdraw from Vera Cruz, de- 
stroying their fortifications, and refuse to enter into any agreement or nego- 
tiation whatever. In such a case the French government maintain that the 
allied powers could not allow themselves to be baffled ; they could not pennit 
their subjects to be ill-treated and defrauded, nor three powerful governments to 
be defied with impunity. 

The French government in such a case, therefore, suppose that the allied 
forces would march on Mexico, and there require the reparation which had not 
been obtained on the coast. I have nothing to say against this reasoning or 
the measures in contemplation. 

But, as regards her Majesty's forces, you are aware that no land forces have 
been directed to join the British portion of the expedition. A body of seven 
hundred marines is the whole force set apart for this service which can be em- 
ployed on shore for any length of time. Neither the constitution of this force 
nor its amount would allow of its being employed in a march upon Mexico. 

You will, therefore, if such a case should arise, decline to direct the marines 
to take part in the operations against Mexico ; but it is essential that uniformity 
should be preserved in the demands to be made upon the de facto authorities of 
Mexico. 

I do not think it necessary to give you more detailed information. Her Ma- 
jesty's government have entire reliance upon your judgment and discretion. 
They would be unwilling to fetter that discretion by minute directions upon 
hypothetical cases. They would prefer, in regard to operations of much diffi- 
culty, where concert is necessary and the aspect of affairs may vary from day 
to day, to leave you to the guidance of your own judgment, enlightened as that 
judgment will be by local information and experience. Her Majesty's govern- 
ment arc confident that Sir A. Mihie and yourself will, in the performance of 
your present arduous duties, be guided by that zeal for the public service and 
by that judgment and discrimination of which you have both given satisfac- 
tory proofs. 



378 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 81. 
Earl Russell to Sir C. Wyhe. 

Foreign Office, Novemher 15, 1861. 

Sir : I enclose for your information and guidance a copy of a further letter 
wliich I have addressed to the lords commissioners of the admiralty,* modi- 
fying to a certain extent that part of my previous letter of the 31st of October ' 
which related to operations on the Pacific coast of Mexico. 

Her Majesty's government are of opinion that if the Mexican authorities 
should accede to the teiTQS which will be proposed to them, and should put the 
allied forces in possession of Vera Cruz, it may be unnecessary to undertake 
operations on the Pacific coast ; but, at all events, they think it best, before any 
such operations are commenced, that you, in conjunction with Admiral Milne, 
and with the ministers and commanders of France and Spain, should have the 
opportunity of determining whether such operations are desirable. 

If such is the case, you will apprise Rear Admiral Maitland of the result of 
your deliberations, and in requesting him to proceed to execute the contingent 
instructions with which he is furnished by the lords of the admiralty, you 
will further inform him of the steps which he should take for collecing the 
duties of customs at the ports which he may occupy, and of the manner in 
which he should dispose of the money which he may thereby raise. 

It is possible that the Mexican government, not opposing the occupation of 
Vera Cruz by the allies, may decline to enter into any convention, and may 
divert their exports to the ports on the Pacific. This is a contingency for which 
the instructions to Admiral Maitland are intended to provide. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



Xo. 82. 
Earl Russell to the Lords Commissioners of tJie Admiralty. 

Foreign Office, Novemher 15, 1861. 

My Lords : With reference to that part of my letter to your lordships, of the 
31st of October, in which I conveyed to you her Majesty's pleasure in regard 
to the operations to be undertaken by Rear Admiral Maitland on the coast of 
Mexico, in execution of the convention between England, France, and Spain, I 
have the honor to acquaint your lordships that her Majesty has been pleased to 
direct that tlie previous instruction should be so far modified as to subject Rear 
Admiral Maitland's action to the information that he may receive from Sir 
Charles Wyke. 

It will, therefore, be, in the first instance, sufiicient that your lordships should 
direct Admiral Maitland to occupy Acapulco, or other ports on the Pacific coast 
of Mexico, with the exception of Mazatlan, on receiving information from Sir 
Charles Wyke that such an operation is desirable for the purposes of the con- 
vention; and I will instruct Sir Charles Wyke, in the event of his making such 
a communication to Admiral Maitland, to acquaint him with the further steps 
which it may be advisable to take on obtaining possession of the ports in ques- 
tion. 

I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 82. 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 379 

No. 83. 

Eat I Cowley to Earl Russell. 

» 
Paris, November 14, 1861- 

My Lord : Tlie French ambassador at Madrid has informed M. Tliouvenel 
that intelligence had been received by the Spanish government that the Spanish 
expedition against Mexico was to have put to sea on the 24th ultimo. 

Marshal Serrano, the governor of Cuba, had taken this determination in 
ignorance of the negotiations pursuing between the British, French, and Spanish 
governments to undertake this expedition in common; but, according to calcu- 
lations made by the latter, it seemed probable that the despatches to Marshal 
Serrano, informing him of this circumstance, would have reached his excellency 
before the 24th ultimo, and would have prevented the departui-e of the Spanish 
sc[uadron. 

I have, &c. 

COWLEY. 



No. 84. 
Earl Russell to Earl Cowley. 



Foreign Office, Novemher 16, 1861. 

My Lord : I enclose, for yoiu- excellency's infonnation, and for communica- 
tion to the French government, copies of communications, as marked in the mar- 
gin,* which I have addressed to the admiralty and to Sir Charles Wyke, on the 
subject of the projected operations against Mexico. 
I am, &c. 

RUSSELL. 



No. 85. 

Mr. Hammond to the Secretary to the Admiralty. 

Foreign Office, November 18, 1861. 
Sir : I am directed by Earl Russell to transmit to you, for the information 
of the lords commissioners of the admiralty, a copy of a despatch from her 
Majesty's ambassador at Paris, respecting the time of departure of the Spanish 
squadron for the coast of Mexico.t 
I am, &c. 

E. HAMMOND. 

« Nos. 80, 81, and 82. f No. 84. 



380 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 86. 
Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 

Paris, Novemher 19, 1861. 

My Lord : I fear that some longer time may elapse than is expected by her 
Majesty's government before the French squadron destined for Mexico can reach ' 
the Havana, as Admiral Jurien de la Graviere has insisted on all the vessels 
composing it rendezvousing in the first instance at Teneriffe. 
I have, &c. 

COWLEY. 



No. 87. 
Sir J. Crampton to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] » 

Madrid, November 19, 1861. 

I have the honor to transmit, in translation, an extract from the official 
"Gazette" of this day's date, containing two royal decrees, the one appointing 
General Prim to be commandant-in-chief of the expeditionary corps to Mexico; 
the other appointing him to be plenipotentiary for the settlement of the questions 
pending with the republic of Mexico. 



Enclosure 1 in No. 87. 



Extract from the Madrid " Gazette'^ of Novemher 19, 1861. 

[Translation.] 

WAR DEPARTMENT. 

Royal Decree. 

In consideration of the qualifications of Lieutenant General Don Juan Prim, 
Marquis of Castillejos, I name him commandant-in-chief of the expeditionary 
corps to Mexico. 

Given in the palace, Novemher 3, 1861. 

(Signed by the royal hand.) 
Leopoldo O'Donnell, 

Minister of War. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 381 

Enclosure 2 in No. 87. 

Extract from the Madrid '• Gazette" of November 19, 1861. 

[Translation.] 

DEPAETMENT OF STATE. 

Royal Decree. 

In consideration of tlie peculiar qualifications of Don Juan Prim, Count of 
Rens, Marquis of Oastillejos, I appoint bim my plenipotentiary for the settle- 
ment of the questions pending with the republic of Mexico. 

Given in the palace, November 17, 1861. 



Satdbnino Calderon Oollantes, 

Minister of State. 



(Signed by the royal hand.) 



No. 88. 
Sir C. Wyke to Earl Russell. 



Mexico, Octoher 28, 1861'. 

My Lord : During the past month nothing worthy of note has taken place to 
change either for better or worse the chronic state of misery and disorder into 
which this unfortunate country has fallen, from the incapacity of its rulers, and 
the bitter spirit of party hatred which animates its contending factions. 

Marquez and the other chiefs of the reactionary party, after having for a while 
withdrawn from the immediate vicinity of Mexico, have retraced their steps, and 
are now within twenty leagues of the capital with a force variously estimated at 
between 3,000 and 4,000 men. 

A few days ago Marquez paid a second visit to the mining establishment of 
Real del Monte, in which English capital to a large amount is invested, and 
levied another forced contribution there to the amount of $50,000. Before 
he had time to do more mischief he was attacked by the government forces under 
General Tapia, who forced him to retreat, with the loss of six guns and the 
greater part of his badly armed infantry. He appears to have retired, however, 
in pretty good order, and having got between the government troops and the 
capital, actually intercepted and captured Tapia's despatches, giving an account 
of the late victory. 

The action of congress is entirely nullified by the opposition, which, without 
any real policy of their own, counteract every measure supported by govern- 
ment from a feeling of personal hostility to the president, whom they wish to 
displace, without apparently having chosen anybody to succeed him, should 
their efforts eventually be crowned with success. 

Every day's experience only tends to prove the utter absurdity of attempting 
to govern the country with the limited powers granted to the executive by the 
present ultra-liberal constitution, and I see no hope of improvement unless it 
comes from a foreign intervoition, or the formation of a rational government 
composed of the leading men of the moderate party, who, however, at present 
are void of moral courage and afraid to move, unless with some material support 
from abroad. 

I have, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



382 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 89. 

Sir C. Wyke to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, October 28, 1861. 

I was mucli gratified in learning, by the receipt of your lordship's despatches 
of the 21st and 31st of August last, that the line of conduct I adopted in 
negotiating with this government to obtain the repayment of the 1660,000 
stolen from the legation, and the $400,000 from the Laguna Seca conducta, 
as reported io my correspondence of the months of June and July last, had 
been entirely approved of by her Majesty's government. 

The instructions contained in your lordship's despatch of the 21st of August 
enabled me to act in the only way that can be successful with a government 
which, from the patient forbearance hitherto shown by her Majesty's govern- 
ment, had come to the conclusion that they could commit any and every outrage 
with impunity. 

I was unwilling to use the power with which your lordship had invested me 
by sending in an ultimatum, without first of all trying to reason them into the 
necessity of complying with the demands which, just in themselves, would soon 
be urged in such a manner as to compel the government of the republic to listen 
to them with attention. 

With this object in view, I wrote a note to Senor de Zamacona, the minister 
for foreign affairs, informing him that I had received by the English, mail, which 
had just ari'ived, instructions from her Majesty's government, the tenor of which 
I was anxious to acquaint him with. He immediately replied that he woxxld 
call on me at 4 o'clock the same day, at which hour he duly arrived at the 
legation. 

On my informing him of the nature of your lordship's instructions, and even 
reading them to him, in order that no doubt should exist on the subject, he was 
as much astonished as alarmed, and expressed an earnest wish that I should not 
communicate with him in writing on a subject so serious until he had acquainted 
the president and his colleagues, the other ministers, with the actual state of the 
case, after which he would call on me again and acquaint me with the views of 
his government. 

Eight days elapsed without my seeing him, and he then returned to negotiate 
with me for the settlement of a question the gravity of which he had at length 
become fully aware of. From that day to this, that is to say, during three 
weeks, he has been with me for two hours at least out of every twenty-four, 
urging the impossibility of complying with your lordship's demands, and trying 
to obtain better terms than those I insisted on. 

I told him that I was willing in every way to spare their amour ■projpre and 
extreme susceptibility as far as was consistent with my duty, but that the essen- 
tial substance of what was required must be conceded, or else I should withdraw 
tlie mission from the republic, which would thus have to bear the responsibility 
of a refusal. 

The two principal objections to be overcome consisted in the repayment of the 
$660,000 robbed from the legation, and the appointment of interventors at 
the different ports ; the first, because it involved the necessity of their practi- 
cally recognizing a principle they had hitherto always repudiated, viz., their 
responsibility for the acts of the other government ; and the second, because the 
presence of such agents was looked on as a national humiliation, which it would 
be disgraceful in them, as a government, to consent to. 

Added these was the all but impossibility of their procuring resources which 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 383 

would enable tliem to comply witli our demands. At this jiTnctnre Mr. Oorwin, 
tlie United States minister, informed ttem that he had instructions to negotiate 
a convention with them, by which, on their giving certain guarantees, such as 
pledging the remains of their church property, waste lands, &c., the American 
government would engage to pay 3 per cent, interest annually on their English 
debt, for the space of five years, provided at the end of that time Mexico would 
repay the money so advanced with 6 per cent, interest thereon. 

Senor de Zamacona at once wished to hand me over to my American colleague, 
who, he felt sure, would guarantee the payment of the interest on the English 
debt, and thereby settle the very disagreeable questions existing between his 
government and this legation. He seemed so pleased with this new solution of 
his pressing difiiculties that it was qxxite painful to wake him out of his happy 
day-dream by the declaration that such a combination could not be entertained, 
and that his government alone must be held responsible for what it owed us. 

After he had recovered from the perception of this unpleasant truth, he 
reflected that the money would still be forthcoming, and that he had only first 
of all to receive it from the United States in order to pay it back again to Great 
Britain. This point once settled, we set to work again, when he immediately 
stumbled over the insurmountable difficulty of the appointment of interventors 
for the reasons already stated, and, as if that was not sufficient, declared the 
impossibility of finding funds from which to pay the legation and Laguna Seca 
robberies. 

To this I replied, that if they refused our conditions, we should appoint the 
interventors, and by seizing their ports with a naval force, pay ourselves and 
their other creditors out of the duties levied at such ports. This brought him 
back again to the point from which we had diverged, and he then said, with 
some degree of truth, that, independent of the difficulty of getting the president 
to look at the question in its proper point of view, it was useless to woimd the 
susceptibilities of the nation, as any agreement he made with me which had 
that result was certain to be repudiated by the congress, and would utterly de- 
feat the object we had in view. I then persuaded him that what I required 
could easily be reconciled with the national honor, and even prove highly ad- 
vantageous to the pecuniary interests of the republic, by giving it another foi-m 
and putting aside the name of " interventor " altogether. This point at length 
settled, as I will hereafter explain, the next question was where the money was 
9 to come from wherewith to pay the sums before referred to, as 59 per cent, of 
their import duties being mortgaged to us alone, it was clear it could not be 
taken from the remaining 41 per cent, out of which they have to pay the French 
convention and other assignments to foreign creditors. 

Some time ago they made over 20 per cent, of some extra duties, called 
" mejoras materiales," to Don Manuel Escaudon for the purpose of aiding him 
to construct a railroad between this city and Vera Cruz. Now as this railroad 
plan is little better than a chimera, and they have no right to squander their 
money in this way whilst leaving their debts unpaid, I suggested the propriety 
of stopping Don Manuel's allowance, and employing one-half of it towards the 
liquidation of their debt to us, and keeping the other for their own more pressing 
necessities. 

I will not any longer take up your lordship's time by detailing the means by 
which, in long and weary interviews, I day by day gained my ground, until at 
length I think I may say I have carri(>d my point, and brought Senor Zamacona 
to agree to a settlement of the difficulty on terms which, although slightly 
modifi(>d in fonn from what your lordship instructed me to demand, Avill still in 
substance, I trust, prove satisfactory to lier Majesty's government. 

Our interviews oidy tenninatcd this afternoon ; and as soon after the departure 
of the Engli.sh mail as possible, I shall draAv^ up the articles of a convention 
embodying the following agreement : 



384 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

1. Repayment of the legation and Laguna Seca robberies, witb 6 per cent, 
interest on the first and 12 per cent, interest on the second, by the additional 10 
per cent, on extra import duties above referred to as "mejoras materiales." 

2. The payment of arrears of interest due to the London and convention 
bondholders to be made good by consigning SO'per cent, of the import duties at 
all the ports for the former, and 29 per cent, for the latter, until said an-ears are 
paid off, when the percentage on such duties will again revert respectively to 25 
and 12 per cent, as heretofore. 

3. Such sums owing to both classes of bondholders as were in the hands of 
the custom-house authorities at the time of the suspension of payments caused 
by the law of the 17th of July last, shall be paid out of the aforesaid 10 per cent. 
extra duties styled "mejoras materiales," which, as already stated, are set aside 
for paying the claims arising out of the legation and,Laguna Seca robberies ; and 
these payments shall be made of said extra duties when the losses caused by 
those robberies have been reimbursed. 

4. The consuls at the different ports shall be authorized to claim the inspection 
of any books, accounts, documents, or manifests in the respective custom-houses, 
as they consider necessary to verify the receipts and accounts of the same; and, 
finally, any commercial house paying duties to the government on goods imported 
without first of all receiving the receipts from the bondholders' agents for their 
percentage on such duties shall, as well as the custom-house authorities, render 
themselves liable to be sued by law for the recovery of double the amount of 
such djcfties. 

5. Before signing the convention containing the above stipulations, the govern- 
ment will address me an of&cial note engaging to use their best efforts to carry a 
measure through congress for the alteration of the tariff, whereby the duties on 
English manufactured goods shall be reduced to nearly one-half of what is now 
levied on them. 

Such, my lord, is the outline of the convention which I hope to sign with this 
government in the course of the ensuing month ; and if I succeed in doing so, I 
think the bondholders will have every reason to be satisfied with the bargain 
made for them. 

As it would have been impossible for this government to fulfil such eng^age- 
ments without the pecuniary aid afforded to them by the American government, 
and as that aid will not be forthcoming until the month of January next, the 
stipulations of this convention will not come into force until that period, dating 
from the 1st day of the month. 

The extended power given to our consuls, together with the agent's right to 
prosecute all parties defrauding the bondholders of their proper percentage on the 
duties, are advantages only to be equalled by those arising from extending the 
collection of such percentage to all the ports in the republic, instead of its being 
confined to Tampico and Vera Cruz. 

The reduction in duties will also have an immense effect in largely increasing 
our commercial relations wdth this country, which have hitherto been cramped by 
the enormous duties levied on our manufactured goods. 

With these people one must never count on anything until it is actually done ; 
therefore I must not boast of my success until the convention is actually signed, 
which I hope it will be within the next fortnight. 

As it was under the pressure of fear that this government has yielded, it be- 
comes absolutely necessary for our future prestige and influence here that a 
respectable naval force shall soon make its appearance in the waters of Vera 
Cruz, and in the event of the Mexican government ever failing to comply with 
the engagements which they have entered into, I should be authorized to employ 
such naval force as I could then procure from Jamaica or elsewhere, in order to 
force them to perform their duty, without waiting untU I could obtain instruc- 
tions from home to that effect. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 385 

With sucli power placed in mj hands I should be able to prevent much mis- 
chief, as well as future annovance to her Majesty's government. 

I cannot speak in teyms of sufficient praise of my American colleague, Mr. 
Corwin, who throughout this transaction has acted with me most cordially, hav- 
ing refused to negotiate his convention with this government until he learnt from 
me that I had settled all pending difficulties with them, as he was determined 
that the money to be advanced by his government should be applied for the 
purpose it was intended, and not uselessly squandered, as it otherwise would 
have been, to no purpose. 

As the interest due on the French convention is a mere trifle in comparison to 
ours, I have strongly urged this government to satisfy the just reclamations of 
the French legation with respect to its suspension, and they have assured me 
that they will use their best efforts to come to some satisfactory arrangement of 
this question with M. de Saligny. 



No. 90. 
Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, November 28, 1861. 

Sir : I received last night, from Sh Charles Wyke, a despatch dated the 28th 
of October, the substance of which I propose now to communicate to you. 

I should explain, in the first instance, that in the proceedings reported in this 
despatch Sh Charles Wyke was engaged in carrying out the instructions con- 
tained in my despatch to him of the 21st of August, of which a copy is herewith 
enclosed for your information,* and from which you will learn the nature of the 
demands which he was at that time instructed to make on the government of 
Mexico in the name of her Majesty's government. 

On the receipt of this instruction Sir C. Wyke placed himself in conmmunica- 
tion with the Mexican authorities, with the "view, if possible, to avoid the necessity 
of presenting an ultimatmn. 

The two principal difficulties which Sir 0. Wyke had to meet in the course of 
the discussions which followed were, fii'st, the objection to the repayment of the 
sum robbed from her Majesty's legation; and, secbndly, the proposed appointment 
of interventors at the ports. 

The objection to the first of these demands was grounded on the principle that 
the actual aiTthorities do not hold themselves responsible for the acts of their 
predecessors ; and as regards the interventorg, it was urged that such an arrange- 
ment would be regarded as a national humiliation which it would be disgraceful 
for the Mexican government to consent to. 

The impossibility of raising funds to meet the. pecuniary demands of her Ma- 
jesty's government was also urged upon Sir C. Wyke. But a proposal made by 
the muiister of the United States placed the matter in a new aspect. 

That minister mformed the Mexican authorities that he had instructions to 
negotiate a convention with them by Avhich, on their giving certain guarantees, 
such as pledging the remains of the church property, Araste lands, ifcc, the Amer- 
ican government would engage to pay 3 per cent, per annum on the Mexican 
debt to England for the sj)ace of five years, provided that at the expiration of 
that period Mexico would repay the money so advanced, with G per cent, interest 
thereupon. 

The difficulties raised as to the repayment of the legation and Laguna Seca 
robberies, and as to the appointment of iaterventors, came next und^er discussion ; 

« No. 16. 
H. Ex. Doc. 100 25 



386 . THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

but Sir 0. Wyke states tliat lie eventually carried his point, and tliat he thinks 
he may say that he has brought Senor Zamacona, with whom the discussion 
was carried on, to agree to a settlement on terms which, though slightly modified 
from those proposed, might still prove satisfactory to her Majesty's government. 

The terms thus arrived at are contained in the articles herewith enclosed for 
your information,* and which Sir 0. Wyke proposed immediately to embody m 
the form of a convention, which he states that he hoped he should succeed in in- 
ducing the Mexican government to sign in the conrse of last month. 

As it was understood that it would be impossible for the Mexican government 
to fulfil such engagements withotit the pecuniary aid afforded to them by the 
American government, and as that aid was not to be forthcoming until the month 
of January next, it was arranged that the stipulations of the proposed conven- 
tion should not come into force until the 1st of January, 1862. 

Such is the state of the case as reported by Sir 0. Wyke; but with reference 
to the fact that the convention was not yet signed, and that the terms agreed 
upon had only been conceded under the pressure of fear. Sir 0. Wyke has urged 
the presence of a naval force at Vera Cruz, and that he should be authorized, in 
case of necessity, to have recourse to force to compel a compliance with the 
British demands as then made. 

Sir C. Wyke has further urged the Mexican government to satisfy the claims 
of the French legation as regards the suspension of interest due on the French 
convention, and the Mexican government have assured him that they would use 
their best efiPorts to come to some satisfactory arrangement with M. de Saligny. 

Having stated the history of these negotiations, and the result which has been 
reached, I have now to communicate to you the view which her Majesty's gov- 
ernment take of this transaction. 

The terms obtained by Sir Charles Wyke fulfil, generally speaking, the sep- 
arate requirements of Great Britain; but no security is obtained that those terms 
will be observed any better than former stipulations and engagements. 

That security, if to be found at all, is to be found in the convention which 
her Majesty has concluded with France and Spain. 

The advantage of having obtained the consent of the Mexican government to 
these conditions consists, first, in the precision with which Sir Charles Wyke 
has drawn up the British demands ; and, secondly, in the assent of the Mexican 
authorities to the terms thus laid before them. 

The task of the British commissioner is thus rendered easy, and the work of 
our respective missions will be facilitated. 

It would greatly add to the facility and abridge the time of negotiation if the 
government of the Queen of Spain should be able to communicate to her Majesty's 
government the terms which they would think it necessary to require for the 
reparation of the wrongs they have sustained at the hands of Mexico, and the 
safety of their subjects for the future. 

I am, &c., RUSSELL. 



No. 91. 
Earl Russell to Earl Cowley. 



Foreign Office, Decemher 2, 1861. 

My Lord: I received on the 27th instant, from Sir C. Wyke, a despatch 
dated the 28th of October, the substance of which I propose now to communicate 
to you. 

« See page 117. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 387 

I slioiild explain, in tlie first instance, that in the proceedings reported in this 
despatch Sir C. Wyke was engaged in carrying ont the instructions contained 
in my despatch to him of the 21st of August, of which a copy is herewith enclosed 
for your information,* and from which you will learn the nature of the demands 
which he was at that time instructed to make on the government of Mexico in 
the name of her Majesty's government. 

On the receipt of this instruction Sir 0. Wyke placed himself in communica- 
tion with the Mexican authorities, with the view, if possible, to avoid the necessity 
of jiresenting an ultimatum. 

The two principal difficulties which Sir C. Wyke had to meet in the discus- 
sions which followed were, first, the objection to the repayment of the siim 
robbed from her Majesty's legation; and, secondly, the proposed appointment of 
interventors at the ports. 

The objection to the first of these demands was granted on the principle that 
the actual authorities do not hold themselves responsible for the acts of their 
predecessors ; and, as regards the interventors, it was urged that such an arrange- 
ment would be regarded as a national humiliation, which it would be disgraceful 
for the Mexican government to consent to. 

The impossibility of raising funds to meet the pecuniary demands of her 
Majesty's government was also urged upon Sir 0. Wyke, but a proposal made 
by the minister of the United States placed the matter in a new light. 

That minister informed the Mexican authorities that he had instructions to 
negotiate a convention with them, by which, on their giving certam guarantees, 
such as pledging the remains of the church property, waste lands, &c., the 
American government would engage to pay 3 per cent, per annum on the 
Mexican debt to England for the space of five years, provided that at the 
expiration of that period Mexico would repay the money so advanced, with 6 
per cent, interest thereupon. 

The difficulties raised as to the repayment of the legation and Laguna Seca 
robberies, and as to the appointment of interventors, came next under discussion; 
but Sir C. Wyke states that he eventually carried his point, and that he thinks 
he may say that he has brought Senor Zamacona, with whom the discussion 
was carried on, to agree to a settlement on terms which, though slightly modified, 
from those proposed, might still prove satisfactory to her Majesty's government. 

The terms thus arrived at are contained in the articles herewith enclosed for 
yom* information,! and Avliich Sir 0. Wyke proposes immediately to embody in 
the form of a convention, which he states that he hoped he should succeed in 
inducing the Mexican government to sign in the course of last month. 

As it was understood that it would be impossible for the Mexican government 
to fulfil such engagements without the pecuniary aid afforded to them by the 
American government, and as that aid was not to be forthcoming until the month 
of January next, it was ari'anged that the stipulations of the proposed convention 
should not come into force until the 1st of January, 1862. 

Such is the state of the case, as reported by Sir 0. Wyke; but with reference 
to the fact that the convention was not yet sig-ned, and that the tenns agreed 
upon had only been conceded under the pressure of fear. Sir 0. Wyke has urged 
the presence of a naval force at Vera Cruz, and that he should be authorized, 
in case of necessity, to have recourse to force to compel a compliance with the 
British demands as there made. 

Sh- C. Wyke has further urged the Mexican govcnmfient to satisfy the claims 
of the French legation as regards the suspension of interest due on the French 
convention, and the Mexican government have assured hina that they would use 
their best efforts to come to some satisfactory arrangement with M. de Saligny.. 

Having stated the result of these negotiations, and tlie result which has been 



©No 15. t See page 117. 



388 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

readied, I Lave now to commimicate to you the view wliicli lier Majesty's gov- 
ernment take of this transaction. 

The terms obtained by Sir 0. Wyke fulfil, generally speaking, the separate 
requirements of Great Britain. But no security is obtained that those terms will 
be observed any better than any former stipulations and engagements. 

That security, if to be found at all, is to be found in the convention which 
her Majesty has concluded with France and Spain. 

The advantage of having obtained the consent of the Mexican government to 
these conditions consists, first, in the precision which Sir 0. Wyke has drawn 
up the British demands ; and, secondly, in the assent of the Mexican authorities 
to the terms thus laid before them. 

The task of the British commissioners is thus rendered easy, and the work of 
our respective missions will be facilitated. 

It would greatly add to the facility and abridge the time of negotiation if the 
government of the Emperor of the French should be able to communicate to her 
Majesty's government the terms which they would think it necessary to require 
for the reparation of the wrongs they have sustained at the hands of Mexico, 
and. the safety of their subjects for the future. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No. 92. 
Earl Russell to Earl Cowley. 



Foreign Office, Decemler 4, 1861. 

My Lord : In the present state of our relations with the United States, her 
Majesty's government propose to send one line-of-battle ship and two frigates 
only to form part of the expedition to Mexico. 

The number of supernumerary marines wUl be 700. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No. 93. 
Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, Decemher 4, 1861. 

Sir : Inthe present state of our relations with the United States, her Majesty's 
government propose to send one line-of-battle ship and two frigates only to form 
part of the expedition to Mexico. 

The number of supernumerary marines wiU still be 700. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



THE PEESENr CONDITION OF MEXICO. 389 

No. 94. 
Earl Cowley to Earl Russell. 

Paris, Decemher 3, 1861. 

. My Lord : I liave communicated to M. Tliouvenel your lordsliip's despatch, 
No. 1324, of yesterday's date, in whicli your lordship informs me of the nego- 
tiations which have taken place between Sir Charles Wyke and the Mexican 
minister for foreign affau-s for the settlement of British claims on the Mexican 
government. 

M. Thouvenel did not make any other remark than that he regretted that he 
could not communicate to her Majesty's government the terms which the impe- 
rial government would require for the reparation of the wrongs they have sus- 
tained, and for the safety of French subjects in future. He had not himself the 
necessary information to enable him to form an opinion, and he had been unable, 
therefore, to furnish any instructions on this head to Admiral Jurien de la Gra- 
viere, which he had much desired to do. All that he could say was, that the 
greater part of the French claims were provided for by the convention which 
the Mexican government had set aside ; and, with regard to the others, he must 
leave it to the discretion of the commissioners to examine into and settle their 
amount. 

I have, &c., 

COWLEY. 



No. 95. 
Lord Lyons to Earl Russell. 



Washington, Novemher 29, 1861. 

My Lord : M. Mercier and I received last week our instructions and full 
powers with regard to inviting the accession of the United States to the conven- 
tion for combined operations against Mexico, which was signed in London on 
the 31st of last month. But the full powers and instructions for M. Tassara, 
the Spanish minister, have not yet reached him. M. Mercier and I have there- 
fore been obliged to defer addressing to the government of the United States 
the fonnal invitation to accede to the convention. M. Mercier, however, on the 
23d ultimo told JMr. Seward that instructions had been received by me and by 
himself, and that we should be glad to make the invitation, either collectively 
or separately, as he pleased ; in fact, to make it hi whatever form he thought 
most convenient. 

Mr. Seward said that he presumed the invitation would be in -wi-iting, but that 
he was indifferent about the point of form. He did not give any hint of the 
nature of the answer which he should make on behalf of the United States 
government. 

5L Tassara expects to receive his instructions to-morrow or the next day. 
I have, &c., 

LYONS. 



390 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 96. 
Lord Lyons to Earl Russell. 

Washington, Decemher 3, 1861. 

My Lord : Witli reference to my despatch of tlie 29tli ultimo, I Lave the 
honor to inform your lordship that on the following day M. Tassara, the Spanish 
minister, received the instructions and full powers necessary to enable him to 
join M. Mercier and me in inviting the government of the United States to ac- 
cede to the convention for combined operations against Mexico, which was signed 
in London on the 31st of October last. We lost no time in addressing a collec- 
tive note to Mr. Seward, inviting, in the name of the governments of Great 
Britain, France, and Spain, the accession of the United States to the convention, 
I have the honor to enclose a copy of the note. No answer has yet been made 
to it. 

I have, &c., 

LYONS. 



Enclosure in No. 96. 
M.^1. Tassara and Mercier and Lord Lyons to Mr. Sieward. 

Washington, ce 30 Novemhre, 1861. 

Les Boussignes, envoyes extraordinaires et ministres plenipotentiaires de leurs 
Majestt^s la Reine d'Espagne, I'Empereur des Fran^ais, et la Reme du Royaume 
Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, ont I'honneur de transmettre ci-joint a 
I'honorable Secretaii-e d'Etat le texte d'une convention conclue a Londres le 31 
Octobre^^entre leurs souverains respectifs, dans le but d'obtenir par une action 
commune le redressement de leurs griefs centre la republiq[ue du Mexique. 

Ainsi qu'il a ete stipule entre les hautes parties contractantes, les soussignes 
ont re9u I'ordre d'inviter le gouvernement des Etats-Unis a acceder a cet acte ; 
et en adressant cette invitation a I'honorable Secretaire d'Etat, ils s'empressent 
de I'informer qu'ils sont munis de pleins pouvoirs necessaires a I'efifet de con- 
clure et de signer collectivement ou separement avec le plenipotentiau'e designd 
par le President des Etats-Unis une convention identique. 

Rien ne serait plus agreable aux gouvernements d'Espagne, de France, et de 
la Grande Bretagne que de voir celui des Etats-Unis accueillir favorablement 
leur proposition, et en priant I'honorable Secretaire d'Etat de vouloir bien leur 
faire connaitre la decision du President, les soussignes, &c. 

GABRIEL J. TASSARA. 
HENRI MERCIER. 
LYONS. 



No. 97. 
Sir J. Crampton to Earl Russell. 

Madrid, Decemher 10, 1861. 

My Lord : On the receipt of your lordship's despatch of the 4th instant, I 
immediately informed Marshal O'Donnell that, in the present state of our rela- 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 391 

tions with tlie United States, her Majesty's government proposed to send one 
line-of-battle ship and two frigates only, to form part of the expedition to 
Mexico. 

I have, &c., 

JOHN F. CRAMPTON. 



No. 98. 
Sir J. Crampton to Earl Russell. 

Madrid, Becemher 15, 1861. 

My Lord : I have communicated to M. Oalderon Oollantes the suhstance of 
yonr lordship's despatch of the 28th ultimo, giving the history of the negotia- 
tions between Sir 0. Wyke and the Mexican government, and the result which 
had been reached ; and acquainting me, at the same time, with the view which 
her Majesty's government take of this transaction. 

I told M. Oalderon Oollantes that the terms obtained by Sir Oharles Wyke 
fulfil, generally speaking, the separate requirements of Great Britain ; but I 
added that the agreement which had been thus come to with the Mexican gov- 
ernment in no way altered the position of her Majesty's government as regards 
the convention which Great Britain had concluded with France and Spain. 

That convention, I observed, affords in fact the only security that the terms 
agreed upon by the Mexican government on this occasion shall be better observed 
than former stipulations and engagements. 

The advantage, therefore, of having obtained the consent of the Mexican gov- 
ernment to these conditions consists in the precision with which the British de- 
mands have been stated, and the assent of the Mexican authorities to the terms 
laid before them. 

The task of the British commissioners was, I remarked, thus rendered easy, 
and the work of our respective missions would be facilitated ; but it was the 
opinion of her Majesty's government that it would greatly add to that facility 
if the government of the Queen of Spain should be able to communicate to 
them the terms which her Oatholic Majesty's government would think it neces- 
sary to requii'e for the reparation of the wrongs they had sustained at the 
hands of Mexico, and the safety of their subjects in future. 

M. Oalderon replied that he entirely entered into the views of her Majesty's 
government in this respect, and that, as far as Spain was concerned, nothing 
could be easier than to state with precision the terms which she on her part 
would require of the Mexican government. These terms are, in fact, embodied 
in the convention concluded with Miramon, and confirmed by the treaty Mon- 
Almontc, which had been repudiated by the succeeding government of Mexico 
upon the same monstrous princijile which the Mexican government had attempted 
to oppose to the demands of Sir 0. Wyke, viz : that the actual authorities do 
not consider themselves responsible to foreign nations for the acts of their prede- 
cessors. Upon the fulfilment of these engagements the Spanish government 
would insist, and all that they would demand in addition to them would be the 
infliction of due punishment upon the perpetrators of the assassinations which 
had since been committed upon Spanish subjects. 

This, he considered, however, to be a capital point ; for if the Mexican gov- 
ernment was unable or unwilling to administer justice in such flagrant cases, 
what hope could we entertain of their fulfilling other engagements ? If the lives 
of British subjects had in any instance been sacrified, he presumed that as a 
matter of course the punishment of the assassins would be made by her Majes- 



392 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

ty's government a primaiy condition to any arrangement witli tlie Mexican gov- 
ernment. 

In conclusion, M. Calderon expressed the opinion that the readiest way of 
coming to the understanding proposed by her Majesty's government, with a view 
to facilitating the negotiations, would be that the commissioners of Spain and 
England should be instructed by their respective governments to communicate to 
each other the terms which each would think it necessary to insist upon in satis- 
faction for past wrongs, and as security for the future observance of international 
duties by Mexico. 

I have, &c., 

JOHN F. ORAMPTON. 



No. 99. 

M. Isturiz to Earl Russell. 



LoNDRES, 22 de Diciemhre de I98I. 

My Lord: Ouando se celebro el convenio de 31 de Octubre para arreglar la 
aceion mancomunada de Inglaterra, Espana, y Francia en la republica de Mejico, 
tuve el honor de advertir a vuestra excelencia, de parte de mi gobierno, que si 
no llegaban a tiempo las ordenes que iban a enviarse al capitan general de Cuba, 
era posible que la expedicion Espanola saliese del puerto de la Habana sin agu- 
ardar la llegada de las otras escuadras. 

Debo ahora manifestar a vuestra excelencia, de orden del gobierno de la Reina 
mi augusta soberana, que las ultimas noticias de Cuba recibidas en Madrid, cor- 
respondientes al 26 de Noviembre, hacen todavia mas posible la eventualidad de 
que se trata. Parece efectivamente que dispuesta hacia ya tiempo en la Habana 
y lista para darse a la mar la expedicion Espanola, ignorandose alii si se habia 
firmado el convenio entre Inglaterra, Espana y Francia, siendo por consiguiente 
desconocido cual seria el punto designado para la reunion de las tres escuadras ; 
y ocasionaudo gastos enormes el mantener la prolongacion indefinida de una ex- 
pedicion militar tan considerable, el capitan general de Ciiba, movido por estas 
poderosas consideraciones, hacia animo a aquella fecha de disponer la inmediata 
salida de las fuerzas Espanolas con direccion a Vera Cruz. 

Al dar aviso a vuestra excelencia de estos hechos, apenas necesito aiiadir que 
si realmente ban llegado a verificarse, el Comandante de la expedicion Espanola 
habra Uevado ordenes de ponerse en todo de acuerdo con las fuerzas de las dos 
potencias amigas y aliadas que pudieran hallarse en las aguas de Mejico ; y de 
todos modos, dado el caso de que el gefe Espanol haya roto las hostilidades y 
ocupado a Vera Cruz y el Castillo de San Juan de Ulloa, esta ocupacion se 
entendera hecha en nombre de las tres potencias coaligadas hasta que lleguen 
las escuadi'as de Ingiaten-a y Francia y se resuelva lo mas conveniente de comrm. 
acuerdo. 

Con este motive, &c. 



XAVIER E. ISTURIZ. 



[Translation.] 



Spanish Legation, 
London, December 22, 1861. 

My Lord: When the convention of the 31st October was concluded for de- 
detenniniug the joint action of England, Spain, and France, in the republic of 
Mexico, I had the honor to acquaint your excellency that if the orders which 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 393 

were to be transmitted to the captain general of Cuba sliovild not reach liir& in 
time, it was possible that the Spanish expedition might leave the port of Havana 
without waitmg for the arrival of the other squadrons. 

I have now to infoiTa jour excellency, by order of the government of the 
Queen my august sovereign, that the last intelligence from Cuba received in 
Madrid, reaching to the 26th November, shows this event to be still more likely. 
It appears, in fact, that the Spanish expedition had been for some time prepared 
at the Havana, and was ready to put to sea, as it was unknown there whether 
or not the convention between England, Spain, and France had been signed, 
and it was therefore unknown what place would be fixed upon for the meeting 
of the three squadrons ; and as the indefinite procrastination of so considerable 
a military expedition would occasion enormous expense, the captain general of 
Cuba, moved by these weighty considerations, was hastening, at that date, the 
immediate departure of the Spanish forces to Vera Cruz. 

In making known these facts to your excellency, I need scarcely add that if 
this should have really taken place, the commandant of the Spanish expedition 
will have had orders to put himself, in everything, in accordance with the forces 
of the two friendly and allied powers which may be in the waters of Mexico ; 
and, at all events, supposing that the Spanish commander has commenced hos- 
tilities and taken possession of Vera Cruz and the Castle of San Juan de Ulloa, 
this possession will be understood as taken in the name of the allied powers, 
until the squadrons of England and France shall arrive, and the most advisable 
action shall be determined by common accord. 
I have, &c., 

XAVIEE E. ISTUEIZ. 



No. 100. 
Earl Rtcssell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, Decemher 24, 1861. 

Sir : I enclose, for your information, a copy of a note which I have received 
from M. Isturiz,* as to the course which would be pursued if the Spanish fleet 
should have left the Havana for Mexico before the anival of the allied squadrons. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No. 101. 
Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton. 

Foreign Office, Decemher 24, 1861. 

Sir : With reference to the concluding paragraph in your despatch of the 
15tli instant, I have to state to you that Sir C. Wyke will be instructed to act 
in tlie manner proposed by Seiior CoUantes, and to communicate to the commis- 
sioners of Spain the terais which, so far as British interests are concerned, her 
Majesty's government would think it necessary to insist upon as satisfaction for 
past wrongs, and as secm-ity for the future observance of international duties by 
Mexico. 

I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 

« No. 99. 



394 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 102. 
Lord Lyons to Earl Russell. 

Washington, Decemher 6, 1861. 

My Lord : I have the honor to enclose a copy of a note addressed to M. 
Tassara, M. Mercier, and to me, by which the government of the United States 
announces its refusal to accede to the convention for combined operations against 
Mexico, which was signed in London on the 31st of October last. 

The note was sent last night to M. Tassara, without any intimation that simi- 
lar notes had not been sent to M. Mercier and me. It consequently did not oc- 
cur to M. Tassara to communicate it to us ; and it was only accidentally that I 
learnt of its existence just in time to procure a copy for my messenger of to-day. 
I have, &c., 

LYONS. 



Enclosure in No. 102. 
Mr. Seward to MM. Tassara and Mercier and Lord Lyons. 

Washington, Decemher 4, 1861. 

The undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of a note which was addressed to him on the 30th day 
of November last, by M. Gabriel G. Tassara, minister plenipotentiary of her 
Majesty the Queen of Spain; M. Henri Mercier, minister plenipotentiary of his 
Majesty the Emperor of the French; and Lord Lyons, minister plenipotentiary 
of her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and L-eland. 

With that paper the aforesaid ministers have submitted the text of a conven- 
tion which was concluded at London on the 31st October last, between the 
sovereigns before named, with the view of obtaining, through a common action, 
the redress of their grievances against the republic of Mexico. 

Li the preamble the high contracting parties say that they have been placed, 
by the arbitrary and vexatious conduct of the authorities of the republic of Mex- 
ico, under a necessity for exacting from the authorities a more effective protec- 
tion for the persons and property of their subjects, as well as the execution of 
obligations contracted with them by the republic of Mexico, and have agreed to 
conclude a convention between themselves, for the purpose of combining their 
common action in the case. 

Li the first article the high contracting powers bind themselves to make, im- 
mediately after the signing of the convention, the necessary arrangements to 
send to the shores of Slexico land and sea forces combined, the effective number 
of which shall be determined in a further exchange of communications between 
the governments, but the total of which must be sufficient to enable them to seize 
and occupy the various fortifications and military positions of the Mexican sea- 
coast. Also, that the commanders of the allied forces shall be authorized to ac- 
complish such other operations as may, on the spot, be deemed most suitable for 
realizing the end specified in the preamble, and especially for insming the safety 
of foreign residents. And that all the measixres which are thus to be carried 
into effect shall be taken in the name and on account of the high contracting 
parties, without distinction of the particular nationality of the forces employed 
in executing them. 

In the second article the high contracting parties bind themselves not to seek 



THE PEESENT CONDITION .OF MEXICO. 395 

for themselves, in the employment of tlie coercive measures foreseen by the 
present convention, any acquisition of territory, or any peculiar advantage, and 
not to exercise, in the subsequent affairs of Mexico, any influence of a character 
to impair the right of the Mexican nation to choose, and fully to constitute, the 
fonn of its own government. 

In the thnd article the high contracting parties agree that a commission, com- 
posed of three commissioner, one appointed by each of the contracting powers, 
shall be established, with full power to determine all questions which may arise 
from the employment and distribution of the sums of money which shall be re- 
ceived from Mexico, having regard to the respective rights of the contracting 
parties. 

In the fourth article the high contracting parties, expressing the desire that 
the measures which it is their intention to adopt may not have an exclusive 
character, and recognizing the fact that the government of the United States, 
like themselves, has claims of its own to enforce against the Mexican republic, 
agree that immediately after the signing of the present convention a copy of it 
shall be communicated to the government of the United States, and that this 
government shall be invited to accede to it, and that, in anticipation of such ac- 
cession, their respective ministers at Washington shall be provided with full 
powers to conclude and sign, collectively or severally, with a plenipotentiary of 
the United States, to be designated by the President, such an instrumeut. But 
as the high contracting parties would expose themselves, in making any delay 
in carrying into effect Articles I and II of the convention, to peril in the end 
which they wish to attain, they have agreed not to defer, with a view to obtain- 
ing the accession of the United States, the commencement of the stipulated ope- 
rations beyond the period at which their combined forces may be united in the 
vicinity of Vera Oruz. 

The plenipotentiaries in their note to the undersigned invite the United 
States to accede to the convention. The undersigned having submitted the sub- 
ject to the President will proceed to communicate his views thereon. 

First, as the undersigned has heretofore had the honor to inform each of the 
plenipotentiaries now addressed, the President does not feel himself at liberty to 
question, and he does not question, that the sovereigns represented have im- 
doubted right to decide for themselves the fact whether they have sustained 
grievances, and to resort to war with Mexico for the redress thereof, and have a 
right, also, to levy the war severally or jointly. 

Secondly, the United States have a deep interest, which, however, they are 
happy to believe is an interest held by them in common with the high contract- 
ing powers and with all other civilized states, that neither of the sovereigns by 
whom the convention has been concluded shall seek or obtain any acquisition of 
territory, or any advantage peculiar to itself, and not equally left open to the 
United States and every other civilized state, within the territories of Mexico ; 
and especially that neither one nor all of the contracting parties shall, as a result 
or consequence of the hostilities to be inaugurated tmder the convention, exer- 
cise in the suljsequent affairs of Mexico any influence of a character to impair 
the right of the Mexican people to choose, and freely to constitute, the form of its 
own government. 

The undersigned renews on this occasion the acknowledgment heretofore 
given, that each of the high contacting parties had infoi-med the United States, 
substantially, that they recognized this interest ; and he is authorized to express 
the satisfaction ot the President with the terms in which that recognition is 
clearly embodied in the treaty itself. 

It is tnie, as the high contracting parties assume, that the United States have, 
on their part, claims to urge against Mexico. Upon due consideration, how- 
ever, the President is of opinion that it would be inexpedient to seek satisfac- 
tion of these claims at this time, through an act of accession to the convention. 



396 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Among tlie reasons for tliis decision wliicli the undersigned is aiitliorized to as- 
sign, are, first, that the United States, so far as it is practicable, prefer to adhere 
to a traditional policy recommended to them by the father of then" country, and 
confirmed by a happy experience, which forbids their making alliances with 
foreign nations. Secondly, Mexico beuig a neighbor of the United States on 
this continent, and possessing a system of government similar to our own in 
many of its important features, the United States habitually*cherish a decided 
good wiU towards that republic, and a lively interest in its security, prosperity, 
and welfare. 

Animated by these sentiments, the United States do not feel inclined to re- 
sort to forcible remedies for their claims at the present moment, when the gov- 
ernment of Mexico is deeply disturbed by faction within, and exposed to war 
with foreign nations; and, of course, the same sentiments render them still more 
disinclined to allied war against Mexico than to war to be urged against her by 
themselves alone. 

The undersigned is further authorized to state to the plenipotentiaries, for the 
information of the sovereigns of Spain, France, and Great Britain, that the 
United States are so earnestly anxious for the safety and welfare of the republic 
of Mexico that they have already empowered their minister residing there to 
enter into a treaty with the Mexican republic, conceding to it some material aid 
and advantages which, it is hoped, may enable that republic to satisfy the just 
claims and demands of the said sovereigns, and to avert the war which those 
sovereigns have agreed among each other to levy against Mexico. The sover- 
eigns need not be informed that this proposal to Mexico has been made, not in 
hostility to them, but with a knowledge of the proceedings frankly communicated 
to them, and with the hope that they might find, through the increased ability 
of Mexico to result from the treaty, and her willingness to treat with them upon 
just terms, a mode of arresting the hostilities which it is the object of the con- 
vention now under consideration to inaugurate. 

What has thus far been done by the American minister at Mexico under 
these instructions has not yet become known to this government, and the infor- 
mation is looked for with deep interest. 

Should these negotiations offer any sufficient ground on which to justify a 
proposition to the high contracting parties in behalf of Mexico, the undersigned 
will hasten to submit such a proposition to those powers. But it is to be under- 
stood, first, that Mexico shall have acceded to such a treaty ; and, secondly, that 
it shall be acceptable to the President and Senate of the United States. 

In the meantime the high contracting parties are informed that the President 
deems it his duty that a naval force should remain in the Gulf of Mexico, suffi- 
cient to look after the interests of American citizens in Mexico during the con- 
flict which may arise between the high contracting parties and that republic ; 
and, secondly, that the American minister residing in Mexico be authorized to 
seek such conference in Mexico with the belligerent parties as may guard either 
of them against inadvertent injmy to the just rights of the United States, if any 
such shall be endangered. 

The undersigned having thus submitted all the views and sentiments of this 
government on this important subject to the high contracting parties in a spirit 
of peace and friendship not only towards Mexico, but towards the high contract- 
ing parties themselves, feels assured that there will be nothing in the watchful- 
ness which it is thus proposed to exercise that can afford any cause for anxiety 
to any of the parties in question. 

The undersigned, &c. 

WILLIAM H. SEWAED. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 397 

No. 103. 
Lord Lyom to Earl Russell. 

"Washington, Decemher 9, 1861. ' 
My Lord : I liave tlie honor to transmit to your lordsliip a copy of a col- 
lective note by which M. Tassara, M. Mercier, and I have acknowledged the 
receipt of Mr. Seward's note of the 4th instant, conveying the refusal of the 
United btates government to accede to the convention of the 31st October for 
combmed operations against Mexico. 

I purpose t^ communicate a copy of Mr. Seward's note to Sh- Charles Wvke 
sendmg it under flying seal to Vice-Admii-al Sir Alexander Milne. 
I have, &c., 

LYONS. 




Enclosure in No. 103. 
MM. Tassara and Mercier and Lord Lyons to Mr. Seward. 

Washington, ce 7 Decemhre, 1861. 

de leurs 

nln.l? ^^^^. ^^^f^^ et d'Irlande, ont I'honneur d'accuser reception a 
1 honorable Secretane d'Etat de la note qu'H a bien voulu leui- adresser sous le 
date du 4 de ce mois, en reponse a celle par laqueUe Hs lui ont communique le 
. texte de la convention conclue a Londi-es entre leurs souverains dans le but de 
regler par une action commune leurs differends avec la republique Mexicaine, et 
ont mvitd le gouvernement des Etats Unis a acceder a cet acte. lis vont s'em- 
presser de transmettre cette reponse a leui's cours respectives 
Les soussigues, &c. 

GABRIEL J. TASSAEA. 
HENEI MEECIER. 
LYONS. 



No. 104. 
Earl Russell to M. de Isturiz. 



Foreign Office, December 24, 1861. 
.f !J' ^^^.^^.'NISTRE : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yom- note 
ot the 22d instant, m which, m pursuance of instructions from your government, 
you have had the goodness to communicate to me the course which will be pur- 
sued if the Spanish fleet at the Havana should have left for Mexico prior to the 
amval of the allied sc^uadrons, and should have taken possession of Vera Cnxz 
1 am, &c., 



RUSSELL. 



398 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 105. 
Earl Russell to Sir J. Cra7npton. 

Foreign Office, December 27, ] 861. 

Sir : I enclose for your iufoi-mation copies of despatclies from Lord Lyons,* 
reporting tire answer wliicli tlie government of tlie United States have returned 
to tlie invitation adressed to it to accede to the convention of tlie 31st of October 
for combined operations in Mexico. 
I am, &c., 

EUSSELL. 



No. 106. 

Sir C. WyJce to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, Novemher 25, 1861. 

By the last mail I was enabled to give your lordship some idea of the effect 
produced upon President Juarez and his cabinet by the instructions contained 
in your lordship's despatches of the 21st and 31st of August last, while I at the 
same time explained to your lordship for what reasons and to what extent I 
had taken upon myself the responsibility of modifying those instructions. 

The result of these modifications was, as I had the honor of stating in my 
despatch of the 28th ultimo, that I obtained a starting point from which to com- 
mence my operations with some chance of success. It would, of course, have 
been far easier to demand from this government a plain "yes" or "no" to the 
ultimatum I was instructed to present to them, but I felt sure her Majesty's* 
government, determined though they were to obtain from Mexico the satisfaction 
that had been so long denied them, would prefer doing so by ordinary means to 
employing force. 

In order, therefore to obtain what was required, I did not hesitate to adopt a 
line of conduct which, by being somewhat more palatable to the susceptible 
Mexicans, would not in reality interfere with the rec[uu'ements of her Majesty's 
government. 

Tour lordship will have seen that, even under these circumstances, it was only 
after the greatest trouble I obtained the outline of a convention that was em- 
bodied in my despatch of the 28th ultimo, above alluded to. Since that time 
my difficulties have greatly increased. 

I nevertheless continued my negotiations with this government through the 
medium of their minister for foreign affairs, with whom I consented to treat 
unofficially at the legation, and it will now be my duty to lay before your lord- 
ship the results which have been arrived at. 

First of all comes the reduction of the tariff. I had informed Seiior Zamacona 
that unless the govenmient consented to a honajide reduction it Avould be useless 
for us to think of negotiating a convention having for its basis the old system of 
duties ; that her Majesty's government insisted upon this point, and that it would 
be far better for his government to yield with a good grace than eventually to be 
forced into compliance with our demands. 

This, in the eyes of the minister for foreign affairs, seemed an insurmountable 
difficulty, for, said he, congress will be certain to throw out any bill that carries 

« Nos. 97, 103, and 104. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 399 

witli it even the semblance of foreign interference. This I know to he too true, 
and I therefore proposed that the reduction should come apparently from con- 
gi'ess itself, as a voluntary act resulting fi-om the report of the mixed commission 
which some time back had been named for examining uito the state of the present 
tariff. 

This idea struck Senor Zamacona as a good one, and he promised to do his 
best to have it carried out. Fresh obstacles, however, soon presented them- 
selves, while intrigues of every kind were being practiced to prevent congress 
sanctioning any reformation whatever in the tariff. 

Luckily at this moment the finance department was offered to a person of 
considerable merit, socially and politically, Senor Gonzales Echeverria, who had 
just returned from Europe for the purpose of settling his affairs in the country 
previous to leaving it for good. 

When, however, Seiior Echeverria looked into the state of his department he 
found everything in such hopeless confusion that he refused to undertake the 
charge. I was then asked to see him as a last hope. During our interview I was 
so much struck with his good common sense, and with the clear notion he had 
foi-med of his country's condition, that I tried to persuade him to accept office. 
At first he reftised, telling me that it was too late to do any good, and that he 
was convinced nothing but foreign intervention could now save Mexico ; but I 
am happy to say that I at least got him to consent to my rec[uest. 

His acceptance of office, added to my carefully abstaining from menacing con- 
gi-ess in any way, and to Senor Zamacona's untiring exertions, seem to have 
produced the desired effect, for when the tariff commission a few days ago pre- 
sented to congress their proposed reform it was duly taken into consideration, 
and, though not accepted as it stood, was not de facto rejected. 

According to the existing tariff, goods, besides paying high import duties, 
were compelled to satisfy endless additional duties after leaving the custom- 
house, and before coming into the market. The commission therefore proposed 
a reduction of 50 per cent, on the import duties, and a further reduction, though 
not of an equal amount, on the additional duties. 

I at once, upon this plan of reform becoming known, called a meeting of the 
British merchants here, in order to obtain their opinion in the matter. They, 
one and all, owned that the reduction was very much in favor of trade generally, 
but Mr. Whitehead, agent for the Loudon bondholders, considered that as the 
assignments due to the body he represented came out of the import duties, and 
as those duties were to be diminished by one-half, whereas the additional duties, 
which were not taxed with assignments, were not reduced in the same propor- 
tion, he would be the loser, inasmuch as it would require the introduction of 
double the amount of goods annually to enable government to pay the bond- 
holders their assigned quota of import duties, and that such an event could 
hardly be expected with the additional duties at so high a figure. 

I explained that so long as Mexico, by reducing her tariff, really benefited 
trade, we had no right to insist upon her effectually crippling herself for the 
sake of being able actually to square the balance-sheet of the bondholder, or fix 
the exact ticket to be placed on each separate piece of shhtiug that came into 
the country. 

Congress, however, threw out the proposal for a reduction of fifty per cent., 
and passed a law, copy of which I beg to enclose herewith, by Avhich govern- 
ment was authorized to reform the tariff upon a basis of forty per cent, reduction 
on the import duties, and to reduce the additional duties by about forty-two per 
cent., making a clear reduction on all duties to which foreign goods are liable 
of somewhat more than forty -one per cent. 

This plan was preferable to the first for many reasons ; though it was not 
quite so beneficial for trade generally, yet it affected pretty equally both the 
bondholder and the merchant, and had the immense advantage of taking the 



'400 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

tariff reform out of tlie liands of congress, and placing it iinder the sole control 
of government. 

When Seuor Zamacona asked me if I would consent to the system of reduc- 
tion on the above basis, I told him I coiild have no objection to it if government 
would add a clause clearly specifying that neither as regarding import, export, or 
additional duties, would any change whatever be allowed without at least six 
months' notice being given. 

Here a fresh dispute arose, as it appeared to the minister for foreign affairs 
that my request implied a doubt as to the honesty of his government. I insisted, 
however, upon this clause as a sine qua non. Had I not done so the govern- 
ment might at any moment have added to their list of additional duties upon 
the plea of necessity, and so entnely annulled the advantges of the new tariff 
system. 

Besides the above clause, I have obtained a further one, providing for the tariff 
coming into operation within four months of its publication. The government 
wanted it to come into operation two months after date, while the merchants 
required six months' law, so that I had no alternative but to take a period be- 
tween the two. 

This, my lord, is the outline of the proposed new tariff; it will not be possible 
to have the tariff itself worked out in detail for this mail, and I can therefore 
merely give your lordship an idea of the result that will be produced by en- 
closing a comparative statement of duties payable on a supposed cargo under 
the old and new systems ; by which it will be seen that a cargo of merchandise 
Avhich is now liable to $100,000 import duties, and to $81,000 additional duties, 
would, under the new system if honestly carried out, be subject to $60,000 im- 
port duties, and $46,500 additional duties ; thus paying $106,500 for all duties, 
instead of $181,000, this being equivalent, as I stated above, to a reduction on 
the whole duties paid by foreign merchandise of somcAvhat more than forty -one 
per cent. 

The tariff question being thus satisfactorily disposed of, I set to work again 
■ on the proposed convention, but found, as I anticipated, that in the interval fresh 
dif&culties had sprung up, and that it would be absolutely necessary to modify 
the plan that we had originally proposed. This Avas a matter of comparative 
indifference to me, provided I obtained the essential points necessary to be 
secured. 

I Avill not weary your lordship by giving a detailed account of daily interviews 
with Senor Zamacona, in which as soon as one difficulty Avas got rid of another 
sprung up, and this in endless succession, until finally, on the 21st instant, I 
succeeded in persuading Senor Zamacona to sign Avith me a convention, copy of 
which I have hercAvith the honor to enclose. 

In Article I the long-disputed question of the payment of those sums of money 
robbed from the conducta and the British legation is at length satisfactorily 
settled, by an extra assignment corresponding to ten per cent, of the import 
duties, to be taken out of that portion of the additional duties commonly knoAvn 
under the denomination of " mejoras materiales." 

In Article II, six per cent, on the $660,000 stolen from the legation, and twelve 
per cent, on the money still due from the conducta robbery, is secured by an 
assignment on the same fund, to date from the time the money was taken. 

In Article III, all treaties, conventions, and agreements heretofore concluded 
between the tAvo high contracting parties are declared to be binding in their 
totality on both parties, and the supreme decrees of the 14th of October, 1850, 
and the 23d of January, 1857, are likewise to remain m full force and vigor in 
all that concerns the London bondholders. 

Article IV settles the manner of payment of such sums of money OAAdng to the 
London bondholders and the convention bondholders as were in the hands of 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 401 

the custom-house authorities at the time all payments were suspended by the 
law of the 17tli of July, together with six per cent, interest thereon. 

Article V secures the interests of the French convention and the arrears due 
on other claims as arranged by Admiral Penaud ; after the payment of which 
the quota belonging to the British convention bondholders shall be augmented, 
as before agreed on, by two per cent, additional. 

Article VI gives the British consuls and bondholders' agents at all the ports in 
the republic the real bona fide powers of interventors, without outraging the 
national feelings, as would have been done by the means proposed in the ulti- 
matum. 

Article VII secures the due and punctual payment to the bondholders of their 
proper share of the duties to be paid on every cargo arriving in a manner never 
before obtained, thereby saving the immense loss inflicted on them by the irreg- 
ular way in Avhich these payments have hitherto been made to them. 

Article VIII settles the date from which the several assignments above alluded 
to shall commence. 

Article IX frees the Mexican government from the responsibilities of a debtor 
from the time these several assignments are paid to the agents of the bondholders 
at the several ports. 

Article X stipulates that in all concerning either the appointment of inter- 
ventors with fuller powers, or the payment of assignments such as those above 
alluded to, no advantage shall hereafter be accorded to any foreign nation that 
is not by the same act also accorded to her Majesty's government. 

Such, my lord, is the convention that was duly signed and sealed on the 21st 
instant by Sefior Zamacona and myself after the exchange of a couple of notes, 
copies of which I have the honor herewith to enclose. 

The object of these communications was, on his part, to secure the passing 
of the convention through Congress, as by the tone of them it would appear, 
that the government had been acting from a spirit of justice, instead of being 
under the undue pressure of menaces from this legation. ' On mine, it was to aid 
him in this laudable effort, as well also as to secure an official declaration from 
this government, binding them to the reduction of the tariff which I had in reality 
made the basis of my operations. 

I conceive that by the arrangement above detailed I had secured all the real 
objects we had in view, and that with the great advantage of obtaining them by 
means of persuasion instead of by the employment of force. 

That a display of such force Avould have been temporarily necessary to carry 
it out I think probable ; but that once made, and the determination of her 
Majesty's government not to be trifled with thus exemplified, all would have 
gone on smoothly, and we should thus have obtained all we required. 

How the arrangement I had thus concluded has been nullified by congi-ess 
having thrown out the convention by a large majority must form the subject of 
a separate despatch, in which I will detail all that has taken place here since its 
rejection. 

Had it been ratified by that body I should have made it the foundation for a 
final settlement with this government of all pending claims, as well as for ob- 
tai)ii)ig compensation for the relatives of such British subjects as have been 
murrlered here up to the present time with impunity. Such an arrangement I 
could, I doubt not, have made during the presence in these waters of a powerful 
English squadron, but now the obstinacy of the legislature has destroyed my 
coml)inations, and reduces the settlement of these questions to the future em- 
ployment of brute force. 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 2^ 



402 .THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Enclosure 1 in No. 106. 
Lawjixing the hasesfor tlie reduction of the tariff. 

Le citoyen Benito Juarez, president constitutionnel des Etats-Unis Mexicains, 
a leurs habitans faisons savoir : 

Que le secretariat du souverain congres de I'union m'a adresse le decret 
suivant : 

Le congrfes de I'union a cru devoir ddcreter ce qui suit : 

Article I. Le gouvernement est autorise a dresser un nouveau tarif des 
douanes maritimes et frontieres en operant, dans celui qui est en vigueur, toutes 
les reformes que I'experifjnee a demontre etre indispensables pour concilier les 
interets du tresor, du commerce, de I'agriculture, et de I'industrie. 

Article II. En agissant ainsi, il se soumettra aux bases suivantes : 

1. n dictera toutes les mesures indispensables afin que le travail ne fasse pas 
defaut aux agriculteurs, aux industriels, et aux artisans. 

2. II pourra reduire jusqu'a, un quarante pour cent les droits d'importation 
que paient actuellement les articles etrangers, conformement au tarif en vigueur. 

3. II dtablira les droits additionnels suivants : 
Le municipal, tel qu'il est aujourd'bui; 

Celui de "mejorasmateriales," trente pour cent sur les droits d 'importation; 
Celui d'internation, quinze pour cent sur les memes droits ; 
Celui de "contra-registro," trente pour cent sur les memes droits; 
Celui de deux et demi pour cent pour le ministfere de fomento. 
Article III. Le tarif que dressera le gouvernement, suivant les regies etablies 
dans I'article qui precede, ne pourra 6tre modifie, en tout ou en partie, tant que 
le congres ne dictera pas de nouvelles bases, en vertu de ses facultes constitu- 
fionnelles. 

Donne dans le salon des seances du congres de I'union, a Mexico, le 15 No- 
vembre, 1861. 

MANUEL DUBLAN, Depute President. 
JUAN N. GUZMAN, Depute Secretaire. 
M. M. OVANDO, Deplete Secretaire. 

Pourquoi j'ordonne que le present soit imprime, publie, mis en circulation et 
dument execute. 

Palais du gouvernement federal, a Mexico, le 18 Novembre, 1861. 

BENITO JUAREZ. 
Au citoyen Jose Gonzalez Echeverria, 

Ministre des Finances et du Credit Public . 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 403 



Enclosure 2 itf^ No. 106. 

Schedule showing the amount of duties that would be paid under the reduced 
tariff voted by congress, by a cargo of merchandise lohich now pays $100,000 
import duties: 

UNDER THE PRESENT SYSTEM. 

Import duties $100, 000 

Additional duties: 

Mejoras materiales $20, 000 

Intemation 10, 000 

Contra-registro 30, 000 

Kailway or amortization 15, 000 

Departmental 6, 000 

81, 000 

Total amount of duties $181, 000, 

UNDER TARIFF VOTED BY CONGRESS. 

Import duties i 60, 000 

Additional duties : 

Mejoras materiales 18, 000 

Internation 9, 000 

Oontra-registro 18, 000 

2 J per cent, of ministry of fomento 1, 500 

46, 500 

Total amount of duties 106, 500 



Showing a reduction of , 74, 000 

Equal to 41^ per cent, on tlie whole duties. 

HORACE JOHNSON 
Mexico, November 25, 1861. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 106. 



Convention between her Britannic Majesty and the republic of Mexico for the 
settlement of various questions note pending between the two governments. 

Desirous of putting on end to the present suspension of diplomatic relations 
between the British legation and the government of Mexjco by an arrangement 
removing the cause of such suspension, and at the same time settling certain 
other questions in Avhich the government of her Majesty and that of the republic 
are mutually interested, they have resolved to conclude a treaty for that purpose, 
and have named as their plenipotentiaries — that is to say, her Majesty the Queen 
of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Sir Charles Lennox Wyke, 
knight commander of the most honorable order of the bath ; her Majesty's en- 
voy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the republic of Mexico; and 
his excellency the president of the republic of Mexico, Senor Don Maimel Maria 
de Zamacona, minister for foreign affairs, &c., &c., &c. ; who, having communi- 
cated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due foiin. 
have agreed upon and concluded the following articles : 



404 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



Article I. 

The sums still remaining due to British subjects of the moneys abstracted 
from the conducta at the Laguna Seca, as well as the six hundred and sixty- 
thousand dollars forcibly taken from the British legation in the month of No- 
vember last, shall be repaid to the lawful owners thereof by an assignment made 
for that purpose by the Mexican government corresponding to ten per cent, of 
the import duties, to be taken from that portion of the additional duties com- 
monly known under the denomination of "mejoras materiales." 

Article II. 

The rate of interest due from the time when the money Avas taken to be paid 
on both these sums from the same fund shall be as follows : namely, six per cent, 
per annum on the six hundred and sixty thousand dollars, and twelve per cent, 
per annum on the remainder of the money due to British subjects from the 
moneys abstracted from the conducta at the Laguna Seca. 

Article III. 

All treaties, conventions, and agreements heretofore concluded between the 
two high contracting parties shall remain binding in their totality on both parties 
in all affecting British and Mexican interests ; and the supreme decrees of the 
fourteentii of October, one thousand eight hundred and lifty, and the twenty- 
third of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, do likewise re- 
main in full force and vigor in all that concerns the London bondholders. 

Article IV. 

Such sums of money owing to the London bondholders and convention bond- 
holders as were in the hands of the custom-house authorities at the time all pay- 
ments were suspended by the law of the seventeenth of July last, shall be paid 
to the owners thereof, together with six per cent, interest thereon, out of the 
same fund that is set apart for the legation and Laguna Seca claims, when those 
shall have been lic[uidated. 

Article V. 

Nothing contained in this convention shall in any way interfere with the stipu- 
lations of other agreements or conventions by which the goods imported in 
French vessels are exempt from contributing to British assignments until the 
French convention shall have been wholly paid oflP, as Avell as the arrears due on 
other claims, as arranged with Admiral Penaud, have also been liquidated, when 
the quota belonging to the British convention bondholders shall be augmented, 
as agreed on, by two per cent, additional. 

Article VI. 

The British consular agents and agents of bondholders at the diflFerent ports 
of the republic shall be entitled to exact the production of all custom-house books 
and papers as may have reference to their clients' interests, and to call for ships' 
manifests, bills of lading, and all other documents which, for the above-named 
purpose, they may consider it necessary to examine. 

Every month a statement of the duties incun-ed, and of the liquidation of the 
assignments due to the London bondholders and the convention bondholders at 
each of the custom-houses, shall be delivered to the British consul resident at the 
port, and in those places where there is no British consul, such statements shall 
be given to the agents of the respective funds, j)rovided there be any such on 
the spot. 



THE PEESENT COJ^DITION OF MEXICO. 405 



Article VII. 

In order to insure with every certainty tlie fulfilment of the conditions con- 
tained in the preceding articles, the assignments made over to the British creditors 
shall henceforth be represented by certificates to be issued by the ministry of 
finance, according to the regulations which shall be framed by said ministry, and 
no importer will be permitted in future to pay the duties on his cargo without at 
the same time paying said assignments, Avhich shall not be paid in cash or in 
any other form except in the said certificates, under the penalty of a second pay- 
ment of double the amount, one-half in certificates, and the other in cash, which 
latter half shall be given to the informer of the fraud. 

The minister of finance shall deliver a sufficient quantity of said certificates 
to the representatives of both classes of bondholders in Mexico, who shall be 
required to keep enough of them on hand, both in this city and the ports, to 
enable the importers to obtain them with the facility required. 

For greater security these certificates must be signed by the representatives 
of the aforesaid bondholders, as Avell as by the aforesaid agents, and after liqui- 
dation they shall be remitted by the collectors of the maritime and frontier 
custom-houses directly to the minister of finance, for the purpose of enabling 
the government to take due note thereof in forming the account current of the 
respective debts. 

Article VIII. 

■ The assignment of ten per cent, of the duties alluded to in article I for the 
pui-poses above specified shall commence from the date of the signature of this 
convention ; and the assignments belonging to the London bondholders and to 
the convention bondholders, secured to them by article III, shall begin from the 
first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two. 

Article IX. 

It is understood that the Mexican government shall be free from the responsi- 
bility of a debtor to a creditor in so far as concerns any such sums as shall have 
been paid by them at the end of each month to the agents of the respective 
bondholders, when a liquidation of the sums so paid and received is duly made 
out and signed by the authorities of the custom-houses and the agents at the 
ports. 

Article X. 

In settling with the other foreign creditors of the republic the difficulties to 
which the law of the 17th of July last has given rise, no advantage shall be 
accorded to them with regard to the time at which the payment of the assign- 
ments shall be renewed, nor as regards the control that they may have in the 
custom-houses, which shall not by the same act be conceded to the British 
creditors. 

Article XI. 

The present convention shall be ratified by her Britannic Majesty and by the 
congress of the Mexican republic, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at 
London as soon as possible Avithin the space of six months. 

In witness Avhereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and 
have affixed thereto thoir respective S(!als. 

Done at Mexico this twenty-first day of November, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eiglit hundred and sixty-one. 



L. s. 
L. s. 



C. LENNOX WYKE. 

MANUEL MA. DE ZAMACONA. 



406 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Enclosure 4 in No. 106, 
Sir C. Wylce to Senor Zamacona. 

Mexico, November 20, 1861. 

Sir : The result of tlie various conferences I have had with your excellency 
appears to be that no real difficulty now exists to prevent our coming to a perfect 
understanding on the subject which gave rise to those conferences, in a manner 
alike satisfactory to the governments we have the honor respectively to represent. 

In order to attain so desirable an end, and to remove the evils caused by the 
law of the 17th of July last, as well also as to prevent any future disagreement 
arising from the consequences thereof, it becomes necessary now to put in writing 
what we have already verbally agreed on, and to settle by a formal instrument 
the due execiition of the following conditions : 

1. Delivery by your government of the money robbed from the British lega- 
tion in the month of November last, amounting to the sum of $660,000, as well 
also of what was abstracted from the Laguna Seca conducta, which originally 
amounted to $400,000, but part of which has since been restored to its rightful 
owners. 

2. That all arrears due to the bondholders arising from the suspension of 
payments of custom-house duties formally consigned to them by the Dunlop and 
Aldham compacts, as well as the British convention, shall be refunded, of course 
including the payments already deposited in the hands of the custom-house 
authorities at the time of such suspension of payments, but which had not yet 
been made over to the agents of said bondholders. 

3. The payment of interest on all sums above specified, from the date of their 
abstraction or detention, as compensation to the owners thereof for the los^ and 
inconvenience to which they have been subjected by these arbitrary proceedings. 

4. That the British consular agents at the ports shall be authorized by the 
government to examine the books and render an account of the receipts of the 
several custom-houses there, such agents receiving directly the assignments for 
the bondholders from the importers, in a manner hereafter to be agreed on be- 
tween us. 

As I believe we are entirely of the same opinion with reference to the advan- 
tages to be obtained by a reduction of the tariff, I trust that your government, 
with this object in view, will adopt some measure of reform in this branch of 
your administration so comprehensive in its nature as entirely to remove the evils 
caused by the present high rate of duties, which are as prejudical to foreign 
commerce as they are to the best interests of the republic. 

By a frank acceptance of these conditions no obstacle will then remain to 
prevent a renewal of official intercourse between your government and this 
legation, which, without such an arrangement, will be finally broken off, and 
thus lead to consequences fatal to the friendly relations which it is so desirable 
to maintain between the two countries. 

Awaiting your reply, I have, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 407 

Enclosure 5 in No. 106. 

Senor Zamacona to Sir C. Wyke. 

[Translation.] 

Government House, November 21, 1861. 

The undersigned, minister for foreign affairs, has had the honor to receive the 
note, dated yesterday, which his excellency the English minister. Sir Charles 
Lennox Wyke, was pleased to write him. 

The undersigned after his repeated conferences with his excellency her Bri- 
tannic Majesty's minister is as much convinced as his excellency that there does 
not really exist any difficulty for the re-establishment of the ordinary relations 
between Mexico and Great Britain. He is entirely of the opinion of Sir Charles 
Wyke as to the great interest that the two countries have in maintaining and 
di-awing still closer their relations ; and the sincere desire to re-establish them 
has doubtless given rise to the conciliatory spirit that has reciprocally prevailed 
in the conferences held for that purpose, and which has so much contributed to 
attain it. , 

The question pending since a year, relative to the abstraction made in No- 
vember last by the usurpers of the public power of a sum belonging to the 
holders of Mexican bonds in London, and deposited in the CaUe de Capuchinas, 
gives this government an opportunity of showing its conciliatory and willing 
spirit, and its desire to terminate all the difficulties pending with Great Britain. 
Notwithstanding that the government of the republic has protested against the 
responsibility that might be laid to its charge on account of that odious attempt, 
it has also protested its desire to prevent as far as possible the losses that the 
holders of bonds have thereby suffered, and therefore agrees to facilitate to them 
the reimbursement of the sum robbed, if the said holders of bonds cede to the 
republic their action for indemnity from the produce of the property of the per- 
petrators of the crime that has been or may be sequestrated. This concession, 
with which the government of Mexico responds to those which his excellency 
her Britannic Majesty's minister has made in the arrangement of this affair, 
removes one of the principal difficulties pending between the two nations. This 
government does not then make any objection to the acceptance of the conditions 
contained in the note of his excellency Sir Charles Wyke, bearing yesterday's 
date. 

As regards the tariff at present in force in the republic, the undersigned be- 
lieves that, in fact, a reform in this matter in a liberal sense will be equally bene- 
ficial to the nation as to the foreign commerce ; and as this government is author- 
ized by congress to make it, it is at present occupied in caiTying out this work. 
By means of it will be removed the ills which, as indicated by her Britannic 
Majesty's minister, are caused by the amount of the duties at present levied on 
goods imported ; and his excellency will perceive it, by simply knowing that the 
government, following the rules that the congress has laid down for it, and tlie 
prhiciples of liberal political economy, will carry out the following bases in the 
new tariff that will be published in a few days : 

That the reduction on the import duties is to consist in 40 per cent, on the 
present amounts. 

That when the reform, which is to be put into operation four months after its 
publication, has been once made, no change shall be able to be made in the im- 
port, export, or additional duties, without infonning the commercial body six 
months beforehand. 

And that in the new tariff shall not be included the article that figured in the 
project lately presented by the committee of finance of the congress, which au- 



408 THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

tlioi'ized the States of tlie coast to place duties on tlie export of tteii' own 
products. 

The undersigned indulges in the same belief as that entertained by his excel- 
lency her Britannic Majesty's minister, that after the declaration contained in this 
note, and after the points to which it refers have been consigned in a fonnal act, 
for which this government is ready, there will not be any obstacle to prevent the 
renewal of relations between it and that legation, and drawing still closer those 
bonds of sympathy and common interest Avhich unite the two nations. 
The undersigned, &c. 

MANUEL MA. DE ZAMACONA. 



No. 107. 
Sir C. Wyke to Earl Russell. 



Mexico, Novemher 28, 1861. 

My Lord : I have the honor to enclose herewith* an address signed by some 
English merchants and other persons resident in this city, which, although ad- 
di'essed to me, I am requested to forward to her Majesty's government. 

I likewise transmit my reply thereto, to which I beg leave to call your lord- 
ship's attention, as it disposes of the principal grievance there complained of. 
I have, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 1 ia No. 107. 



Messrs. G-raham, Geaves ^ Co., and others, to Sir C. Wyke. 

Mexico, Novemher 25, 1861. 

Sir : "We, the undersigned British merchants, and others, consider it our duty 
to address you at the present moment in defence of the interests which have 
been confided to us, as also to express our opinion in the present critical state of 
affairs. 

The particulars which we have been able to learn regarding the convention 
you had agreed upon with the Mexican government being rather vague and im- 
perfect, we are hardly able to judge of the ultimate advantages which might 
have accrued to British commerce had the said convention been ratified by con- 
gress; but in the absence of any official communication on the subject we are 
necessarily led to believe that the version given by the principal jom-nal of this 
city, "El Siglo," is, at least, tolerably correct, althougli we must confess that 
we doubt of its entire authencity, being, as we are, unwilling to believe that any 
arrangement can have been contemplated which only provided for the redress 
and liquidation of the larger and more prominent claims, to the exclusion of the 
numerous smaller, but equally deserving, claims of British residents in this 
cormtry. 

By the English papers which have lately aiTived, we have also been made 
acquainted with the answer which Earl Russell addressed on the 3d of October 
to Messrs, Rothschild, and other merchants of England interested in the Mexican 
trade, in answer to their petition asking for that protection for the lives of their 
fellow countrymen, and for their own property in Mexico, which Englishmen 
have a right to expect fi-om their government. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 409 

We Lave followed witli the utmost care and anxiety every step of your nego- 
tiations witli the Mexican government, and we now beg most respectfully to 
manifest our decided opinion that whilst we consider the course you have pursued 
since your arrival in Mexico as entirely in accordance with the intentions ex- 
pressed by Earl Russell, and whilst we fiilly acknowledge the great exertions 
which you have personally made to secure every advantage compatible with 
what we understand to be your instructions, we cannot but regard the views 
taken by the home government as entirely erroneous with respect to the actual 
state of the country, and their proposed measures as altogether insufficient to 
obtain either redress for past outrages or to insure any sort of confidence or 
security for the futui-e. 

You have obtained the passing of an act of congress which authorizes the re- 
duction of the tariff, but it cannot be denied that this innovation will be quite as 
advantageous to Mexico as it will be to England, and therefore it cannot be 
looked upon as a concession which Mexico makes, but simply as an important 
improvement which the country has resolved upon in consequence of the sug- 
gestion made by England to this effect. 

There are two points at issue in the present case : the first being the due repa- 
ration, as far as practicable, of the numerous outrages upon Englishmen and upon 
the English flag ; the second, the adoption of such measures as may check the 
recuiTence of such outrages, and by degrees put a stop to the anarchy and con- 
sequent ruin which has been spreading oyer this country for several years. 

We fully comprehend that the home government look upon the whole question 
with repugnance, caused principally by the difficulties which surround every 
plan of action, and consequently we refrain from entering into the consideration 
of the second point ; for, on the one hand, we feel perfectly confident that you 
are fidly impressed with the importance of the question, and that your own 
personal views must coincide with ours, whilst the limits to which we desire to 
reduce this note could never suffice to enter into such a vast and complicated 
question. 

As Englishmen, however, we think it our duty to use every effort in our 
power, and to avaU ourselves of every privilege which our constitution grants us, 
to induce her Majesty's government to exact that reparation for the past which 
may at least prove that our countrymen's blood is not to be wantonly shed, and 
England sneered at without the coimtry which has tolerated such atrocities being 
made to atone for them. 

We maintain that the assassination of a British consul and numerous fellow- 
countiymen, the marching through the streets of Englishmen as prisoners of war 
under the most unwarrantable circumstances, the robbery of English property 
by armed forces, headed by leading men of the acknowledged governments, 
and other acts of almost equally atrocious character, are not to be atoned for by 
the simple j)ayment of an insignificant sum of money ; we maintain that England 
cannot allow a Mexican minister of finance to appropi-iate sums of money as- 
signed to her under the most solemn diplomatic conventions Avithout demanding 
something more than the mere repayment of the sums so taken. The ministers 
who authorize these acts know full well that it requires three or four months at 
least before the action of her Majesty's government can be brought to bear 
against them, and they invariably take care to resign their poste before the ex- 
piration of such time ; they care little for the reclamations which their successors 
may have to deal with ; but is it anything more than common justice to demand 
that the whole administration, or the country, should be made aware that similar 
outrages must be atoned for a little sooner or later? 

When all our gx'ievances arose from the acts of one party in tlie country, Ave 
understood too well that nothing could be done; but when we Avitnessed the 
seizure of the bondholders' funds by the church party, and the seizure of the 
Tampico conducta by the constitutional party, Ave had every reason to consider 



410 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

that the chief difficulty towards exacting reparation was removed ; nor can there 
be any essential difference between one de facto government robbing money 
deposited in the hancjs of the bondholders' agent and the next administration 
robbing their assignments on the coast. 

We do not wish you to believe that we in any way ask for impossibilities, 
nor that we wish to take up certain cases as pretexts to force her Majesty's gov- 
ernment into useless and difficult military expeditions; we do not even pretend 
that in a country like Mexico the punishment of the precise perpetrators of the 
crime should be insisted upon ; but we see little difficulty to the penalty being 
paid by the country. 

After seeing that her Majesty herself considered the question worthy of being 
mentioned in her speech from the throne ; after being assured that the matter 
was and had been long under consideration; and after Avaiting for pei'haps the 
most propitious moment that could possibly present itself, we are bound to say 
that the conduct of England is likely to impress foreign nations with but a very 
poor and inadequate amount of respect or consideration if the whole list of 
outrages is to be atoned for, and even passed over in silence, on receipt of a sum 
of money. Some of our number are interested in the British convention fund, 
many of us have private claims against the Mexican government, whilst others 
are only indirectly interested in any settlement or treaty Avhich may be made; 
but we all unite to express, in the most respectful but at the same time in the 
most emphatic terms, that we look upon the precise percentage of duties which 
may be exacted as of no importance whatever compared to the question of the 
securities and guarantees which may and, as we submit, ought to be demanded, 
and more particulnrly to the just and, so to speak, national reparation on the 
part of Mexico for past outrages, which, if committed by a private individual, 
Avould be classed as criminal in the highest degree. 

The principle of allowing any outrages to be committed for nothing more or 
less than a certain price is surely too dangerous a one to be tolerated by England. 
The sacred character of international treaties Avould by this means be entirely 
destroyed ; and it is not merely the lives and property of English residents in 
Mexico, but of those in remote countries all over the world, that would be 
exposed to dangers which our government is bound to ward off and protect us 
from, instead' of tolerating them with comparative impunity. English miners, 
merchants, and colonists would, in one word, find themselves in a weaker and 
more difficult position than the natives of almost any other nation. Surely this 
cannot be the state of things which an English cabinet can take any pride in 
creatmg or countenancing, nor can it be expected that British subjects can quietly 
and passively wait for such a result to be produced ; and it is therefore that we 
wish through you to impress upon her Majesty's government that no arrange- 
ment should be entered into which does not embrace full reparation for every 
just British claim, whatever may have been its origin, atonement for the violation 
of treaties, and ample guarantees for the future security of persons and property 
of British subjects resident within the republic. 

In conclusion, we beg to repeat that this present address is not directed to you 
personally, and that we have the highest motives for respecting and appreciating 
your own exertions since yom- arrival as her Majesty's minister ; but we most 
earnestly solicft that you will communicate our views to her Majesty's govern- 
ment, and at the same time trust that your experience of Mexico will induce you 
to support and advance our petition as the only means of obtaining any permanent 
improvement in the foreign trade of this country. 
We have, &c. 

GRAHAM, GEAVES & CO., 
And twenty-eighl others. 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 411 



Enclosure 2 in No. 107. 

Sir C. WyTie to Messrs. Graham, Geaves and Co., and others. 

Mexico, Novemher 28, 1861, 

Gentlemen : A careM perusal of your communication dated the 25tli instant, 
whicli only reached me late in the afternoon of yesterday, has left me in doubt 
as to your precise object in requesting me to forward it to her Majesty's 
government. 

It is not by an expression of your fears and anxieties in vague and general 
terms that any good result can be arrived at ; such an address as the one you 
have sent should, to have any real value, embody the decided opinion, founded 
on your long experience here, as to the remedy to be applied with a view of 
removing the evils of which you so justly complain. 

Had you consulted with me personally and pointed out your wishes more 
distinctly, a more definite end might have been attained, and I should have been 
better enabled to forward those wishes, by supporting them, than I now am by 
the mere receipt of such a letter as yours on the eve of the mail's departure for 
England. 

The convention of the 21st instant, to which you allude, was concluded for 
the purpose of binding this government and nation to fulfil their engagements, 
in a positive and practical manner, to a large body of British subjects who have 
an immense stake in this country, and whose iiaterests have hitherto been shame- 
fully disregarded, from the fact of their being in part protected merely by 
agreements and memorandums passed between some of our naval officers and 
certain local authorities at the port of Vera Cruz, such authorities being at the 
time in open rebellion against a government to which we had an accredited minister 
at this capital. As some amongst your number were the sufferers by having no 
better guarantee than this, you could only have been benefited by exchanging 
it for the adequate protection of a solemn international obligation such as a con- 
vention, Avhich also secured the repayment of the moneys stolen from British 
legation and the conducta, with 6 per cent, on the former and 12 per cent, on 
the latter, in compensation for the inconvenience to which the owners of such 
moneys have been subjected by the arbitrary and unjustifiable acts of two 
successive governments. 

These payments, and the due fulfilment of the engagements set aside by the 
law of the 17th of July last, it was imperative for the honor of her Majesty's 
government should in the first instance be obtained, and hence the conclusion of 
the convention above alluded to, which satisfactorily terminated a separate and 
distinct question, and would have naturally cleared the way for a settlement of 
the other Britisli claims arising out of the numerous acts of violence against life 
and property, hitherto perpetrated with impunity against our fellow-subjects. 

You little know me, gentlemen, or the instructions I have received from her 
Majesty's government, if you suppose that with a British squadron in the waters 
of Vera Craz I should not obtain such reparation and compensation as is just 
and fair to demand of the Mexican government for such outrages. 

With regard to the opinion you express, that the views o'f her Majesty's 

government with respect to the actual state of this country are entinJy erroneous, 

and the measures they propose adopting to obtain redress insufficient, I altogether 

^differ from you, aiid 1 tni.st events will prove that I am not wrong in doing so. 

You allude to tlie murder of a British consul and lunnerous other countrymen, 
the marcliing through the streets of Englishmen as prisoners of war, the robbery 
of English prop('rty by anned forces, &c., its being atoned for by the simple 
payment of an insignificant sum of money ; and further state that a minister of 
finance cannot be allowed to appropriate sixms of money belonging to English 



412 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

subjects without demanding sometliing more tlian the mere i-epayment of the 
sums so taken. The outrages on life and person you thus describe took place 
before my arrival in this country, and I am not aware that they have, or are 
likely to be, atoned for by the payment, as you state, of an insignificant sum of 
money. 

With regard to the money taken from British subjects in the way you mention, 
something more will be exacted than repayment, in the shape of interest thereon, 
more or less in amount according to the circumstances of each particular case. 

Reparation for" all these outrages will be exacted by her Majesty's government, 
not from any particular set of men who happened to be in power when they 
were committed, but from the country, which is held responsible for them, and I 
really cannot see, therefore, what you wish for more. 

My foregoing remarks will have explained to you that the convention I lately 
concluded with Seiior Zamacona was never intended to settle these grievances, 
but was merely a preliminary step for removing those amongst them which, 
from their magnitude, were of the first importance ; this fact I had clearly stated 
to some amongst you, whose signatures I was therefore surprised to see to the 
letter to which thi^ is a reply. 

You say that, by my having obtained the passing of an act of congress 
authorizing the reduction of the tariff, I have only persuaded them to do that 
which is as advantageous to themselves as it is to us, and therefore it cannot be 
looked on as a concession which Mexico makes. 

If you were aware of the many days and hours' labor it has taken me to 
persuade them of this fact, you would, I think, set more value on a concession 
Avhich would never have been obtained unless it had formed the basis of the 
convention I have so often alluded to. 

This advantage, as well as the abrogation of the law of the 17th of July by 
congress, has been the result of my negotiations, which will now, therefore, I 
hope, appear to you in a less unfavorable light than when you addressed me on 
the 25th instant. 

I thank you, gentlemen, for the kind manner in which you mention the humble 
services I have been able to render to you since my arrival in this country, but 
in doing so I venture to hope you will in future believe that there is not one 
amongst you who is more jealous of the honor of his country than is England's 
representative in this republic. 

Your address, together with this reply to it, shall be forwarded to her Majesty's 
government by to-morroAv's mail. 
I have, &c. 

0. LENNOX WYKE. 



No. 108. 

Sir C. Wyke to Earl Russell. 

[Extract] 



Mexico, November 28, 1861. 
General Doblado, governor of the State of Guanaxuato, who is at the head 
of about 8,000 men, is said to be on the eve of making a " pronunciamiento " 
Avith a view of getting himself elected president ; but from the extreme caution 
of the man's character, I think that he is hardly likely to expose himself to the 
risk of failure which he thus would undoubtedly have to inciir. 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OP MEXICO. 413 

No. 109. 

Sir C. Wyhe to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 

Mexico, November 28, 1861. 

In my despatch of the 25th instant I had the honor of laying before your 
lordship, in detail, the business which had occupied my attention since the de- 
parture of the last European mail. 

My labors, as your lorpship will have seen, terminated in my having obtained 
a considerable reduction in the existing tariflp, and in having signed such a con- 
vention as promised to place our relations with the Mexican government on a 
somewhat better footing than they have been for some time past. 

It is to be sincerely regretted that congress was so carried away by party feel- 
ing as not to perceive the error they were committing in throwing out a conven- 
tion which, both in form and substance, avoided, as far as possible, any attack. 
upon the honor and amour propre of the nation, and yet held out to Mexico the 
means of coming to an equally satisfactory settlement of tbe difficulties with 
France and Spain whenever these two powers demanded redress at their very 
doors. 

Congress, as if frightened at what it had done, passed a resolution on the 23d 
instant abolishing the law of the 17th of July, and stating that the convention 
assignments should be again paid, as heretofore, to both classes of bondholders, 
as well also as those sums due to them at the time the suspension of payments 
was decreed. 

As this would, of course, not satisfy me, I had no choice left but to present at 
once to government an ultimatum, and demand my passports in case it was 
refused. 

On the presentation of my ultimatum Sefior de Zamacona resigned, the min- 
ister of war having done so the day before ; and there is now a probability of 
the other members of the cabinet doing so likewise, unless congress retraces its 
steps, for the government have sent back the convention to be reconsidered by 
them as a last resource. 

To-day I had a visit from Seiior Lerdo de Tejada, the leader of the opposition 
in congress, who called to ask me whether I would consent to any modification 
in the convention, as, if I would agree to modify the articles concerning the re- 
payment of the legation and conducta robberies, and the powers given to enable 
our consuls to act as interventors, he would engage to pass it through congress, 
and then accept the vacant post of minister for foreign affairs, which, under such 
cncumstances, he thought the president would confer upon him. 

My answer was a simple one, and to the effect that, having already made every 
concession possible in my negotiations with Senor de Zamacona, I could make 
no others. On receiving this answer Senor Lerdo do Tojada retired, and with 
him disappeared every hope of the convention's ratification. 

I have only now again to express to your lordship my high sense of Mr. Cor- 
wiu's conduct through the whole business ; he has stood by me in the most hon- 
orable manner, and on learning the rejection of my convention by congress, 
refused, in tlie most positive manner, to advance the government one; dollar of 
the proposed American loan. Nor can I pass over in silence the services of 
Senor de Zamacona, the minister for foreign affairs. He, at all events, has been 
sincere in trying to second my late endeavors, and his resignation of office proves 
that there is an exception to every rule, even as regards Mexico and the Mexi- 
cans. 

I shall start for Vera Cruz with the members of my mission as soon as I can 



414 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

conveniently do so, leaving Mr. Consul Glennie in charge of the archives, and 
with him that most excellent public servant, Don Rafael Beraza, so that the 
merchants here shall not suffer by my absence in the courier arrangements. 
Havana will probably be the place where I shall await your lordship's instruc- 
tions, but wherever I may settle to go, I will not fail to remember the instructions 
contained in your lordship's despatch of September 28, in reference to the ad- 
miral on the station. 

P. S. — Since writing the above I have received the enclosed letter from the 
Mexican foreign office, by which your lordship will see that 1 am requested to 
wait for the answer to my ultimatum until the new minister for foreign affairs is 
appointed. 



Enclosure 1 in No. 109. 
Propositions voted hy congress abrogating the law of July 17, 1861. 

La Derogation de la Loi du 17 Juillet. — ^Voicile texte dela proposition 
presentfee et adoptee, le 23 du courant, par le congres qui I'a dispensee des for- 
malites du reglement ; elle a pour auteurs MM. les Deputes Sebastian Lerdo de 
Tejada, Manuel Ruiz, Mariano Riva Palacio, Montes, Dublan, Linares, Pino y 
Ramirez, Baz, Suarez Navarro et Ohico Sein. 

Article 1. Sont derogees les dispositions de la Loi du 17 Juillet de la pre- 
sente annee qui se referent aux conventions diplomatiques et a la dette con- 
tractee a Londres. 

Art. 2. Le gouvernement mettra immddiatement en voie de paiement les as- 
signations respectives, conformement aux dispositions et aux reglements ante- 
rieurs a la dite Loi. 

Art. 3, Le gouvernement remettra immediatement au congres une notice des 
sommes qui existaient au moment de I'expedition de la Loi et de celles qu'il aiu'a 
re9ues depuis, appartenant aux dites assignations, en initiant les lois qu'il jugera 
necessaires pour rembourser les dites sommes aux creanciers des conventions et 
de la dette contractee a Londres, et pour procurer au tresor les fonds dont il 
manque pour cet objet. 

Econojnique. — Une commission du congres declarera au president de la repub- 
lique la convenance que le gouvernement, en publiant la presente Loi, expose et 
explique officiellement les raisons de justice qu'il a cues pour rendre celle du 17 
Juillet, et les motifs pour lesquels elle est derogee, en ce qui touche aux conven- 
tions et a la dette contractee a Londres. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 109. 
Sir C. WyJce to Senor Zamacona. 

Mexico, November 24, 1861. 

Sir : The rejection of the convention of the 21st instant by congress on the 
night of Friday last has, I regret to say, j)ut a term to those measures of con- 
ciliation by which, after six weeks' incessant labor and sacrifices, we had sought 
to remove the serious differences between the two countries. 

Under these circumstances I have but one course left open to me, and that is, 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 415 

witliout delay to present to your excellency the ultimatum of lier Majesty's gov- 
ernment, requiring the acceptance of the following conditions, viz : 

1. Immediate abrogation of the law of the 17th of July last. 

2. That in the ports of the republic commissioners, to be named by her Ma- 
jesty's government, shall be placed for the purpose of appropriating to the 
powers having conventions with Mexico the assignments which those conven- 
tions prescribe shall be paid out of the receipts of the maritime custom-houses, 
including in the sums to be paid to the British government the amount of the 
conducta robbery and the money stolen from the British legation in the month 
of November last. 

3. That the commissioners shall have the power of reducing by one-half, or 
in any less proportion that they think fit, the duties now levied under the exist- 
ing tariff. 

If these terms are not complied with, I shall find myself under the necessity 
of quitting the republic, with all the members of my mission, leaving the gov- 
ernment of Mexico responsible for the consequences that will ensue. 
I have, &c. 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 109. 



Senor Arias to Sir C. Wyke. 
[Translation.] 

Government House, 

Mexico, November 28, 1861. 

The undersigned, charged temporarily with the ministry of foreign affairs, 
has the honor to answer the note which his excellency Sir Charles Lennox 
Wyke, &c., has been pleased to address to the said ministry, under date of the 
24th instant, in which he communicates the conditions, the acceptance of which 
is demanded by her Britannic Majesty's government, in order to terminate the 
suspension of diplomatic relations, to which the law of the 17th of July last 
gave rise. 

The undersigned must, first of all, make his excuses to his excellency Sir 
Charles Wyke for the delay which he will perceive in this answer, but which 
will, however, have already been explained, if he knows that the minister 
charged with this department withdrew from it, having previously resigned, 
almost at the very moment that the said note of the legation was received, and 
if he knows also that the supreme government is making every effort with the 
co'ngi-ess, in order to settle the difficulties which unfortunately have arisen be- 
tween Great Britain and the republic of Mexico. 

The chief magistrate of the republic is most anxious that this should take 
place, and his excellency Sir Charles Wyke will not doubt it if he remembers 
the recent proofs Avhich the Mexican government has given of its desire for a 
peaceful and reasonable settlement of the difficulties pending with Great Britain. 

In order to obtain this result the chief obstacle has been removed by the ab- 
rogation of the law of July 17th ; and in consideration of this, and that there 
will soon be a new minister to take charge of the present negotiation, the un- 
dersigned confidently hopes, from Sir Charles Wyke's honest intentions and 
benevolent sentiments, that he will be good enough to wait only until the new 
minister to be named may give the due answer to the aforesaid note of his ex- 
cellency, and to suspend for the moment any resolution which may alter the 
position which the question now has. 

The undersigned, &c. 

JUAN A. D. ARIAS. 



416 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



No. 110. 

The Secretary to the Admiralty to Mr. Hammond. 

Admiralty, January 2, 1862. 
Sir: I am commanded by my lords commissioners of the admiralty to send 
you herewitli, for the information of Earl Rnssell, a copy of a letter from Com- 
modore Dunlop, dated the 5th ultimo, and of its enclosures, reporting the sail- 
ing of the Spanish expedition from Havana for Vera Cruz on the 30th Novem- 
ber and the 1st and 2d of December last. 
I am, &c. 

C. PAGET. 



Enclosure 1 in No. 110. 
Commodore Dunlop to the Secretary to the Admiralty. 

" Challenger," at Havana, December 5, 1S61. 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith, to be laid before the lords com- 
missioners of the admiralty, copy of a letter and its enclosures which I have 
this day addressed to Rear Admiral Sir A. Milne, K. C. B., commander-in-chief, 
reporting the sailing from Havana of the Spanish expedition for Vera Cruz. 
I am, &c. 

HUGH DUNLOP. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 110. 
Commodore Dunlop to Rear Admiral Sir A. Milne. 

" Challenger," at Havana, December 5, 1861. 

Sir : I have the honor to acquaint you that the Spanish expedition for Vera 
Cruz sailed from this place in three divisions on 30th ultimo and 1st and 2d 
instants under the command of Rear Admiral Rubalcava, who sailed on the 1st 
instant, with his flag in the paddle-stftamer " Isabel la Catolica." 
Enclosed is a list of the vessels forming the expedition. 

The troops embarked amount to 6,000 of all arms, under the command of 
Don Manuel Gassett. The names of the principal staff officers are enclosed. 
I am, &c. 

HUGH DUNLOP. 

P. S. — I shall transmit a copy of this letter and its enclosure to the secretary" 
of the admiralty. • H. D. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



417 



Enclosure 3 in No. 110. 
List of sMfs-of-war and transports composing the Spanish expedition to Mexico. 



Class. 


Name. 


i 

o 


it 


Captains. 


Paddle corvette 


Isabel la Catolica* 


16 

16 

6 

6 

1 

4 

60 

37 

50 

42 

37 

37 

2 

2 

2 

2 


500 
500 
350 
350 
100 
440 

"380 
380 


Don Carlos del Camino ... 


Do 


Francisco de Asis ..--. 


Don Nicolas Chicarro ..... 


Paddle sloop 

Do 


Blasco de Graray . .... 


Don Me. Diaz Herrera . 


Pizarro. .. 


Don Juan Pita la Vega ... 


Paddle gunboat 

Paddle transport.. 

Screw frigate 

Do 


Gruadalquiver ...... 


Don Adolfo Navarite .... 


Velasco ......... . 


Don Joo6 Carranza ... 


Princewsa de Asturias 

Concepcion . 


Don Jos^ Alvarado 

Don Ml. McOrohin .. 


Do 


Leal tad . . ... 


Don Pedro del Castillo ... 


Do 


Blanca ...... 


Don Ml. de la Rigada 

Don Jos6 R. de Arrias 


Do 


Berenguela . ... . 


Do 


Petronila ...... ...... 


Don R. M. Venalet 


Screw transport... 
Do 


Ferrol 


Don ■ Pablo Lugo Vinas 

Don Ramon Bran 


Numero Tres... . 


Sailing transport.. 
Do 


Santa Maria. .............. 


Don Aleyo Rodriguez 

Don Sunico-- . .... 


Marigalante ......... ... 


Screw transport 

Do 


Cubana, (No. 1). .......... 




Cuba, (No. 11) 








Do 


Cardenas, (No. 9) . ...... 








Do 


Maisi, (No. 7) . .. 








Paddle transport.. 
Sailing transport.. 


Pajara del Oceano, (No. 5) 








Sunrise, (No. 2) 








Do 


Teresa, (No. 4) 








Do ,.. 


Favorita, (No. 6) 








Do 


Paquitii, (No. 8) ........... 








Do 


Palma, (No. 10) 



















Flag-ship. 



Enclosure 4 in No. 110. 

List of the principal staff officers of the Spanish expedition to Mexico. 

Commander-in-cliief, Don Manuel Gasset; second in command, Brigadier 
General Don Carlos de Valgos ; chief of the staff, Colonel Don Juan Vidarte, 
of Bobadilla ; colonel commandant of artillery, Marqnes de la Concordia ; colonel 
commandant of engineers, Don Nicolas Valdes y Fernandez ; commissary gene- 
ral, Don Baltasar Llopisy y Caparros ; surgeon general, Don Joaquin Rosell y 
Fio ; colonel commandant of 1st, Brigadier Don Francisco Aparicio y Pardo ; 
colonel commandant of 2d, Brigadier Don Vincente Diaz de Caballas ; colonel 
commandant of artillery, Don Antonio Fernandez Ouevos ; colonel commandant 
of engineers, Don Andres Gortia, of Goyeneche. 2d battalion, Cazadores de 
Baileu y Union; 1st battalion, Napoles ; 1st battalion, Cuba; 4 companies 1st 
battalion, Napoles ; 4 companies of 2d battalion, Eey. 

H. Ex. Doc. 100 27 



418 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

No. 111. 
Lord Lyons to Earl Russell. 

Washington^ December 21, 1861. 

My Lord : In my despatdi of tLe lOtli September last I informed your 
lordship that instructions had been sent to Mr. Corwin, the United States 
minister in Mexico, to conclude a convention with the Mexican government, in 
virtue of which the United States should assume the obligation to pay the 
interest on the foreign debt of that country. 

Mr. Seward told me this morning that Mr. Corwin had not concluded the pro- 
posed convention, but had sent, in lieu of it, a draught of a convention providing 
for the United States advancing to Mexico a very large sum to enable her to 
discharge her obligations to foreign creditors. Mr. Seward said that if Mr. 
Corwin had sent a convention in the terms of his draught, already signed, the 
President would, no doubt, have recommended it to the Senate for ratification. 
Since, however, a draught only had been sent, it had been detennined, in conformity 
with a plan occasionally adopted in important cases, to ask the Senate before- 
hand whether it advised the President to conclude a treaty on the terms 
proposed. 

Mr. Seward proceeded to say that Mr. Corwin would, in all probability, have 
signed the treaty at once, had he not been displeased by the rejection, by the 
Mexican congi-ess, of a " very proper" treaty negotiated by Sir Charles Wyke. 
Mr. Corwin had, Mr. Seward said, given Sir Charles Wyke aU the support in 
his power, and had declined to conclude his own treaty when he found that the 
treaty made by Sir Charles had been rejected. 

I told Mr. Seward that I had received a private letter from Sir Charles Wyke, 
speaking in the highest tenns of Mr. Corwin. 

Mr. Seward observed that, as the draught of the treaty was before the Senate in 
secret session, it would not be right for him to acquaint me with the exact sum 
to be advanced by the United States, or with other details. 

I have reason to suppose that Mr. Corwin was instructed not to engage for 
the payment of money by the United States unless the Mexican government 
should previously come to such an ari'angement with Great Britain as should 
render it pretty certain that the money would not be paid in vain ; that it would 
not fail to prevent the combined expedition, or at all events to prevent Great 
Britain taking part in it. 

Some of the details of Mr. Corwin's draught have transpired, or at any rate very 
confident assertions are made concerning them. It is stated that the sum to be 
advanced is, in all, $9,000,000 ; $500,000 to be paid at the expiration of thirty 
days from the ratification of the treaty, and a like sum at the expiration of each 
successive period of thirty days, until $5,000,000 have been advanced ; the 
remaining $4,000,000 to be advanced in half-yearly payments of $2,000,000, 
the first to be made six months after the payment of the last sum of $500,000. 

As security the American government is to have a mortgage on all the public 
lands, minerals, &c., of Lower California, Chihuahua, and two other provinces 
bordering on the United States. A commission composed of three Mexicans 
and two Americans is to assume the administration of the land, &c., thus 
mortgaged. 

It is understood, however, that Mr. Corwin will still be instiiicted to abstain 
from signing the treaty, unless there be a reasonable prospect of its attaining the 
object the United States government have in view, that of removing the com- 
bined fleets to a distance from the Gulf of Mexico and the coasts of this country. 
I have, &c., 

LYONS. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 419 

No. 112. 

M. Isturiz to Earl Russell. 

Legacion de Espana en Londres, 

13 de Enero de 1862. 
My Lord : El gobiemo de la Reina mi augusta Boberana me comunica con 
fecha 7 del actual las instrucciones que apenas recibio en 13 de Diciembre las 
6rdenes necesarias para el cumplimiento de la convencion firmada en Londres el 
31 de Octubre ultimo, se apresuro ^ remitir el capitan general de Cuba ^ los 
gefes del ejercito j escuadra de la expedicion que babia enviado 4 Mejico, en 
virtud de ordenes anteriores j en completa ignorancia de los pormenores y 
arreglos que fueron consecuencia de la citada convencion. 

A mi vez tengo el bonor de transmitir a vuestra excelencia una copia de estas 
instrucciones, cujo tenor es sin duda el mas d proposito para asegurar, de 
acuerdo con lo estipulado en 31 de Octubre, la accion mancomunada de las tres 
potencias en la republica de Mejico. 
Con este, &c., 

XAVIEE E ISTURIZ. 

[Translation.] 

Spanish Legation, 
London, January 13, 1862. 

My Lord : Tbe government of tbe Queen my august sovereig-n communicated 
to me on tbe 7tb instant tbe instructions wbich tbe captain general of Cuba, so 
soon as be received on tbe 13tb December tbe orders necessary for carrying out 
tbe convention signed in London tbe 31st October last, bastened to transmit to 
tbe beads of tbe army and squadron of tbe expedition wbicb be bad sent to 
Mexico, in fiirtberance of preceding orders, and in entire ignorance of tbe details 
and an-angements made in consequence of tbat convention. 

I bave noAV tbe bonor to forward to your excellency a copy of tbose instruc- 
tions, tbe tenor of wbicb is doubtless most suitable to secure, in accordance witb 
wbat was stipulated on tbe 31st October, tbe joint action of tbe tbree powers in 
tbe republic of Mexico. 
I bave, &c., 

XAVIER E ISTURIZ. 



Enclosure in No. 112. 



Instructions addressed hy the captain general of Cuba, on tTie IZth of December, 
1861, to the heads of the Sj)a?iish expedition to Mexico. 

1. Si al recibo de este despacbo no se bubiesen emprendido ya operaciones 
militares debcra suspenderse toda agresion, peiTuaneciendo las tropas a bordo si 
en ello no bay inconveniente 6 peligro ; si en efecto lo bubiese procuranin V.EE. 
desembarcar y forraar un campamento atrincberado, donde permaneceril la 
division a la defensiva sin proceder d agresion de ningun gen^o y protegida per 
la escuadra. 

2. Si como lo afirman todas las noticias aqui rccibidas, ban sido abandonados 
por los Mejicanos la plaza de Vera Cruz y el Castillo de San Juan de Ulua, y 
las tropas ban ocupado ya ambos puntos, deberan V.EE. conservarlos, recliazando 



420 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

los ataqties de que pudiera ser objeto, pero sin tomar nunca la iniciativa de 
operacion alguna militar. 

3. Eu los dos supuestos precedentes esperaran la llegada del nuevo general 
ministro plenipotenciario, 4 quien supougo se le lian comunicado por el gobiemo 
todas las instrucciones necesarias acerca de la conducta ulterior de la expedicion. 
Con la llegada del SeSor Prim coneidira probablemente la de los almirantes 
Frances 6 Ingles, j en semejante caso cumple solo A V.EE. atenerse d los 
acuerdos de las tres potencias. 

4. Si la plaza j el castillo estuviesen en aptitud de defenderse y el ataque se 
liubiese emprendido, se procedera como convenga al cumplimiento de las nuevas 
ordenes de su Magestad si el honor de nuestras armas lo permite, j sino se 
Uevara a cabo lo que pueda ser necesario a la gloria del nombre Espaiiol. 

5. Si el bloqueo se hubiese establecido al recibo de esta comunicacion decla- 
raran V.EE. en suspenso sus efectos hasta la llegada de los aliados. No pre- 
scindiran sin embargo de la posesion de la aduana si ya estuviesen en ella ; pero 
la entregaran inmediatamente d. disposicion de los plenipotenciarios luego que 
esten reunidos. 

Oomo V.EE. ban podido comprender, las cinco disposiciones precedentes se 
reasumen en un pensamiento general reducido a conservar un perfecto statu quo 
basta que lleguen los representantes de las potencias aliadas. 

A la discrecion de V.EE. corresponde, dado el estado de cosas que yo no 
puedo conocer desde aqui, armonizar lo que se ha hecho con lo demas que deba 
hacerse, evitando conflictos y complicaciones con las potencias firmantes del 
convenio. 

Dios, &c. 

FEANCISCO SERRANO. 

[Translation] 

1. If, at the receipt of this despatch, no military operations shall have been 
undertaken, all aggression must be suspended, the troops remaining on board 
ship if there shall be no inconvenience or danger therein ; but if in fact there 
should be any, you will land and form an entrenched camp, where the division 
will remain on the defensive, without proceeding to an attack of any sort, and 
under protection of the squadron. 

2. If, as it is asserted by all the infonnation hitherto received, the place of 
Vera Cniz and the Castle San Juan de Ulloa have been abandoned by the Mex- 
icans, and both points are in occupation of the troops, you will maintain them, 
repulsing any attacks that may be made against them, but without ever taking 
the initiative of any military operation. 

3. In these two supposed cases you will await the anival of the new general 
minister plenipotentiary, to whom, I presume, all the instructions necessary for 
the ulterior conduct of the expedition will have been communicated by the gov- 
ernment. The arrival of Seuor Prim will probably coincide with that of the 
French and English admirals, and in such case you will have to attend only to 
the concvuTent resolves of the three powers. 

4. If the place and the castle shall be in a defensive attitude and the attack 
shall have been commenced, you shall proceed according to the new orders of 
her Majesty, if the honor of our aims allow it, and if not, you will complete 
what may be requisite for the glory of the Spanish name. 

5. If the blockade shall be established on the receipt of this communication, 
you will declare the eflfects thereof to be in suspense until the arrival of the 
allies. Nevertheless, you will not give up possession of the custom-house, if 
you shall be in possession of it ; but you will immediately place it at the dis- 
posal of the plenipotentiaries so soon as they shall have met. 

As you will have understood, the five preceding articles may be summed up 



THE PKESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 421 

in one general idea, of maintaining a perfect statu quo until tlie arrival of the 
representatives of the allied powers. It is left to your discretion, accordmg to 
the state of things which I cannot be acquainted with from this place, to har- 
monize what is done with what remains to be done, avoiding conflicts and com- 
plications with the powers who have signed the agreement. 
God preserve, &c. 

rKANCISCO SEREANO. 



No. 113. 
Earl Russell to M. Isturiz. 



Foreign Office, January 16, 1862. 

M. LE MiNiSTRE : I beg leave to thank you for your note of the 13th instant, 
in which you communicate to me the instructions addressed by the captain 
general of Cuba to the commander of her Catholic Majesty's military and naval 
forces in Mexico. 

I have at the same time the honor to infoitn you that, whilst those instruc- 
tions are considered satisfactory by her Majesty's government, they have not 
yet been able to understand why the Spanish expedition set out before the arrival 
of the British and French forces. 
I am, &c., 

RUSSELL. 



No. 114. 

Earl Cowley to Earl RusselL 

[Extract.] 

Paris, January 17, 1862. 

M. Thouvenel informed me this afternoon that the Emperor had determined 

to re-enforce the expeditionary corps sent to Mexico. M. de Flahault, his excel- 

"lency said, would be instructed to state the reasons of this detei-mination to your 

lordship, and he (M. Thouvenel) hoped that it would not be opposed by her 

Majesty's government. 



No. 115. 
M. Isturiz to Earl Russell. 



Legacion de EspaSa en Londres, 

18 de Enero de 1862. 

My Lord : He tenido el honor de recibir la comunicacion de vucstra excel- 
encia fecha 16 del actual, en respuesta il la dota que le dirigi el dia 13, trasla- 
ddndole las instrucciones enviadas por el capitan general de Cuba a los gefcs de 
la expedicion de Mejico. Manifiesta en ella vucstra excelencia que considera 



422 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

satisfactorias aquellas instnicciones, pero que el gobierno de su Magestad Britanica 
no La podido comprender aun porque salio de Cuba la expedicion Espanola 
antes de la llegada de las fuerzas Inglesas j Francesas. Creia haber explicado 
suficientemente este punto en mi nota de 22 de Diciembre ultimo ; pero puesto 
quetodavia necesita aclaraciones, dire a vuestra excelenciaque, segun los despachos 
del capital! general de Cuba, las ordenes para suspender la expedicion, enviadas por 
la via de Nueva York con la esperanza de que llegasen mas pronto a su destino, 
no fueron recibidas en Cuba basta la mitad de Diciembre, j que el capitan gen- 
eral, ignorante de los pormenores del tratado y del punto fijado para la reunion 
de las escuadras j temeroso de Uegar tarde d Vera Cruz, juzgo oportuno no 
demorar la saUda de una expedicion que hacia mucbo tiempo que se ballaba Hsta 
de todo punto. Si en la conferencia que tuve el honor de celebrar con vuestra 
excelencia el dia 7 del corriente se Lubiese tocado esta duda, bubiera yo tenido 
el mayor gusto en desvanecerla, como espero lo quedara ahora con estas francas 
explicaciones. 

Con este, &c., 



XAVIER E ISTURIZ. 



[Translation.] 



Spanish Legation, 
London, January 18, 1862. 

My Lord : I have had the honor to receive your excellency's communication 
dated the 16th instant, ia reply to the note which I addressed you on the 13th, 
transmitting to you the instructions sent by the captain general of Cuba to the 
heads of the expedition to Mexico. In that conununication your excellency 
infoi-ms me that you consider those instructions satisfactory, but that her Britan- 
nic Majesty's government could not yet understand why the Spanish expedition 
left Cuba before the an-ival of the English and French forces. I thought I had 
sufficiently explained this point in my note of the 22d of December last, but 
since it still requires explanation, I have to inform your excellency that accord- 
ing to the despatches of the captain general of Cuba the orders to suspend the 
expedition, which were sent via New York in the hope that they would the 
sooner reach their destination, were not received in Cuba till the middle of De- 
cember, and that the captain general, unacquainted with the details of the treaty, 
and with the point fixed for the meeting of the squadrons, being also fearful of 
arriving too late at Vera Cruz, thought it right not to delay the departure of an 
expedition which had been for a long time ready in every point. If this doubt 
had been mentioned at the interview which I had the honor to have with your 
excellency on the 7th instant, I should have already had very great pleasure in 
clearing it up, as I hope will be done by this frank explanation. 
I have, &c., 

XAVIER E ISTURIZ. 



No. 116. 
Earl Russell to Earl Cowley. 

[Extract.] 

Foreign Office, January 20, 1862. 

I saw Count Flahault yesterday. His excellency informed me that he was 
instructed to state that the French government considered it necessary to send 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 423 

an additional land force to Mexico. I had been prepared for this communication 
by your excellency's despatch of the I7th of January. 

Count Flahault went on to say that the precipitate step taken by General 
Sen-ano in commencing operations, without waiting for the forces of France and 
England, was calculated to enhance the difficulties of the expedition ; that it 
now seemed inevitable that the allied forces must advance into the interior of 
Mexico, and not only would the force at present agreed upon be insufficient for 
such an operation, but the operation itself would assume a character in regard to 
which the Emperor could not allow the French force to be in a position of infe- 
riority to that of Spain, or to run the risk of being compromised. 

His Imperial Majesty has therefore determined to send a re-enforcement of 
between 3,000 and 4,000 men to Mexico. 

I told Count Flahault that I very much regretted this step : I had no objec- 
tion to offer on behalf of her Majesty's government to the validity of the argu- 
ment that the forces of France should not be inferior in number to those of 
Spain. I would, therefore, only observe that it would not be possible for her 
Majesty's government to detach any greater amount of troops for operations on 
shore than the foi-ce of marines already sent to the Mexican coast. 



No. 117. 
Earl Russell to M. Isturiz. 



Foreign Office, January 23, 1862, 
_ M. LE MiNlSTRE : In acknowledging the receipt of your excellency's commu- 
nicatiori of the 18th January last, I have to state to yom- excellency that although 
her Majesty's government are not entirely satisfied with the explanation offered 
by your excellency as to the departure from Cuba of the Spanish expedition to 
Mexico before the time agreed upon between the three powers, they are willing 
to accept your excellency's declaration that it has been the intention of her 
Catholic Majesty's government to act in conformity with the provisions of the 
treaty of the 20th of November, 1861. 
I am, &c., 

RUSSELL. 



No. 118. 
Earl RusseU to Sir J. Crampton. 



Foreign Office, January 19, 1862. 

Sir : Although her Majesty's government are satisfied, from the explanations 
given by M. Isturiz, that the government of her Catholic Majesty has given 
instructions to her Catholic Majesty's commanders at Havana in conformity Avith 
the agreements entered into with her Majesty and his Majesty the Emperor of 
the French, yet the proceedhigs of Marshal Serrano are calculated to produce 
some uneasiness. 

The departure of the Spanish expedition from Havana, and the military occu- 
pation of Vera Cruz, to say nothing of the tone of the proclamation issued by 
the Spanish government, demonstrate that a combined expedition, at a great 



424 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

distance fi-om Em-ope, is subject to the discretion at all times, to the rashness 
sometimes, of the separate commanders and diplomatic agents. 

I wish you to read to Marshal O'Donnell and M. Calderon Collantes the 
preamble and the article of our convention which define Avhat our intervention 
is intended to do, and what it is not intended to do. 

You will point out that the allied forces are not to be used for the purpose of 
depriving the Mexicans of then- undoubted right of choosing their own form of 
government. 

Should the Mexicans choose to constitute a new government which can restore 
order and preserve amicable relations with foreign nations, her Majesty's govern- 
ment will be delighted to hail the formation, and to support the consolidation, of 
such a government. If, on the contrary, the troops of foreign powers are to be 
used to set up a government repugnant to the sentiments of Mexico, and to sup- 
port it by military force, her Majesty's governmeiit could expect no other result 
from such an attempt than discord and disappointment. In such a case the allied 
governments would only have to choose between withdrawing from such an 
enterprise with some shame, or extending their interference beyond the limits, 
scope, and intention of the triple convention. 

You will explain to Marshal O'Donnell that this apprehension on our part 
does not arise from any suspicion of the good faith of the government of her 
Catholic Majesty ; but commanders acting at a distance requu-e to be very closely 
watched, lest they should commit then* principals to miwarrantable proceedings. 

You will read this despatch to M. Calderon Collantes. 
I am, &c., 

RUSSELL. 



No. 119. 

Earl Cowley to Earl Riissell. 
[Extract.] 

Paris, January 24, 1862. 
I have heard from so many quarters that the language of officers going with 
the re-enforcements to Mexico is, that it is for the purpose of placing the Arch- 
duke Maximilian upon the throne ot that country, that I have thought it neces- 
sary to question M. Thouvenel upon the subject. 

I inquired of M. Thouvenel whether any negotiations had been pending be- 
tween this government and that of Austria with reference to the Archduke 
Maximilian. His excellency replied in the negative. He said that the negotia- 
tions had been carried on by Mexicans only, who had come over for the purpose 
and gone to Vienna. 



No. 120. 
Earl Russell to Sir C. Wyke. 



Foreign Office, January 27, 1862, 

Sir : I have receiA^ed and laid before the Queen your despatches from the 
18th to the 28th November. 

Since I last wrote to you, the Emperor of the French has decided to send 
3,000 more troops to Vera Cruz. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 425 

It is supposed tliat these troops -rtIII marcli at once with the French, and a 
part of the Spanish troops ah-eady there, to the city of Mexico. 

It is said that the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian will he invited by a large 
body of Mexicans to place himself on the throne of Mexico, and that the Mexi- 
can people will gladly hail such a change. 

I have little to add to my former instmctions on this head. If the Mexican 
people, by a spontaneous movement, place the Austrian archduke on the throne 
of Mexico, there is nothmg ia the convention to prevent it. 

On the other hand, we could be no parties to a forcible intervention for this 
purpose. The Mexicans must consult their own interests. 

I have to add to my former instructions respecting the admirals in the Atlantic 
and Pacific, that you will make no objection to the withdrawal of the mariaes 
from Vera Cruz when the unhealthy season shall arrive. 

You will also not object to any measures which may be concerted between the 
senior British naval officer at Vera Cruz and Admiral Maitland for the occupa- 
tion or blockade of any or all the Mexican ports on the Pacific which it may be 
thought necessary, for the purposes of the convention, to occupy or to blockade. 
Acapulco, San Bias, and Mazatlan, are the ports chiefly alluded to in this in- 
Bti'uction. 

I am, &c., 

RUSSELL. 



No. 121. 
Sir C. WyJce to Earl Russell. 

Mexico, December 14, 1861. 

My Lord: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your lordship's de- 
spatch of the 1st of November last, instructing me to proceed to Jamaica, with 
all the members of her Majesty's mission here, as soon as Admiral Sir Alexander 
Milne could send a vessel-of-war to Vera Cruz for that purpose. 

Having just heard of the arrival of her Majesty's ship "Ariadne" at that port, 
I yesterday wi-ote to Senor Doblado, the newly-appointed minister for foreign 
afiairs, requesting to be furnished with my passports, to enable me to leave the 
territory of the republic. » 

I have the honor to enclose copy of my letter to his excellency, together with 
his reply thereto. 

I quit Mexico for Vera Cruz the day after to-morrow, leaving Mr. Consul 
Glennie in charge of the archives of the legation ; and in the event of hostilities 
taking place between her Majesty's forces and those of the republic, I have re- 
quested M. Kint de Roodenbeeck, the Belgian charge d'affaires, to take British 
subjects and their interests here under his protection. 

I herewith enclose copy of the communication which I addressed to him with 
reference to this matter, together with his reply thereto. 

I shall wait at Vera Cruz for the English mail, which ought to arrive there 
on the 27th instant, and immediately after its anival shall proceed on to Jamaica 
to join the admiral, who expects to be there in the first week of January. 
I have, &c., 

C, LENNOX WYKE. 



426 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO 

Enclosure 1 in No. 121. 
Sir C. WyTce to Senor Dohlado. 

Mexico, December 13, 1861. 

Sir : Tlie ultimatum of lier Majesty's government, wliich 1 presented to that 
of the republic on the 24th ultimo, having remained up to the present moment 
unanswered, no other course is now open to me than to demand vaj passports, so 
as to enable me and the other members of her Majesty's mission to leave Mexico. 

Mr. Glennie, the English consul here, will remain in charge of the archives of 
the legation, as well also as of British subjects and their interests in the republic. 
Should, however, hostilities hereafter unfortunately ensue between the forces of 
our respective governments, it will then become necessary to place my country- 
men and their property here under the protection of a neutral flag, for which 
purpose I have requested M. Kint de Roodenbeeck, the Belgian charge 
d'affaires, to take charge of them, which, from the intimate relations of friend- 
ship existing between the governments of Belgium and Great Britain, he has 
most willingly consented to do. 

This I consider necessary more as a matter of form than for any other reason, 
so convinced am I that under such circumstances the government of Mexico 
will consider it as a point of honor to afford every protection and guarantee to 
British subjects whose interests may oblige them to remain as residents within 
the territory of the republic. 

In order to avoid great inconvenience both to the Mexican government as well 
as to the whole commercial body, I shall leave Don Rafael Beraza here to direct, 
as heretofore, the courier service of this legation, which 1 am sure will continue 
to receive every protection and assistance from your government. 

My intention is to leave this city for Vera Cruz on Monday next, and I should 
feel obliged if your excellency would give the necessary instructions in the 
proper quarter to furnish me with a proper escort for our due protection on the 
road. 

I have, &c., 

C. LENNOX WYKE. 



Enclosure 2 in No. 121. 

Senor Dohlado to Sir C. Wyke, 

[Translation.] 

Government House, Mexico, December 14, 1861. 

The undersigned, minister for foreign affairs, has had the honor to receive the 
note of his excellency Sir Charles Wyke, &c., dated the 13th instant, in which 
he is pleased to state that, as his ultimatum of the 24th ultimo has not been 
answered, the legation will be under the necessity of leaving Mexico ; adding 
that Mr. Glennie, British consul, remained charged with the protection of the 
British subjects, and that in the unfortunate event of a ruptm-e, this commission 
was intrusted to the Belgian chargd d'affaires, but rather as a form than for 
any other motive, since his excellency rests assured that Mexico will, as a point 
of honor, give every sort of guarantee to British subjects, and concludes by 
announcing that Don Rafael Beraza wiU remain in this capital in order to 
superintend the couriers of the legation, which legation intending to leave next 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 427 

Monday, lie requests ttat the necessary escort should be furnished him, in order 
to protect him on his journey. 

Complying with the request of his excellency, the undersigned has the honor 
to annex herewith the necessary passport, at the same time that he hastens to 
transmit to him a copy of the circular issued on the 5th instant by the supreme 
government of the republic, in which the desires of that legation are anticipated, 
assuring, as it does, guarantees to all the foreigners residing in the country, even 
in the unfortimate event of a rupture. 

The orders are given for the placing of the escorts that have to protect the 
person of his excellency, Sir Charles Wyke, up to Vera Cruz, and the post- 
master general is agreed that Don Rafael* Beraza should remain charged with 
the transmission of the correspondence of the legation. 

The citizen president being authorized in every possible way by the supreme 
congress to make treaties with friendly nations without the necessity of obtain- 
ing the approval of that body, he has still the hope of renewing the negotia- 
tions with his excellency the British minister that were interrupted, always on 
the understanding, as is indispensable, that that legation should be sufficiently 
authorized by the government of her Britannic Majesty, for Mexico is disposed 
to do whatever may be compatible with justice and the national dignity. 

The undersigned, &c. 

MANUEL DOBLADO. 



Enclosure 3 in No. 121. 
Circular addressed to governors of States. 

MiNISTjERE DES RELATIONS, 

Mexico, le 5 Decemhre, 1861. 

La situation d(^licate oii en est venue la republique avec les puissances 
^trangeres met la nation et le gouvemement dans le devoir imperieux de veiller 
plus que jamais a ce que les garanties concedees aux etrangers par les lois du 
pays et le droit des gens soient respectees d'une manifere inviolable. 

La justice du Mexique dans ses differends avec quelques unes de ces 
puissances offre une probabilitd que les conflits seront ecartes, lorsqu'on 
examinera de plus pres les motifs puissants qui sont venus s'interposer acci- 
dentellement comme irne difficulte dans le ddveloppement des relations cordiales 
que le Mexique a desird, meme au prix de grands saci'ifices, cultiver et resserrer 
avec les nations amies. 

Une preuve de ces ddsu-s est la franche et gf^ndreuse hospitality avec laquelle 
le pays a reQa dans' son sein les enfants de ces nations, en leur concedant les 
plus grandes franchises dans I'exercice du commerce, de I'agriculture, de I'indus- 
ti-ie et des arts. Si quelquefois des dvenements qui out porte prejudice, non 
seulement aux strangers, mais encore aux nationaux dans une mesure beaucoup 
plus grande, le Mexique n'a jamais cessd n(^anmoins de manifester sou amour 
pour la justice et la civilisation, ni de faire tout ce qu'exigeut ces demiferes, dans 
rint(ir^t de son nom et de son ddcorum. 

Cependant, des difficultes inattendues obligent aujourd'hui la nation si donner 
de nouvelles preuvcs et de plus grands tdmoignages de loyaut(i et d'honneur aux 
puissances dtrangeres, et a dementir, par des actes d'humanitd et d'illustration, 
la note de scmi-barbares qu'on doverse sur die, grace aux manoeuvres execrables 
et aux informations mensongeres de speculatcurs sans conscience et do quelquofi 
enfants denatures du Mexique qui feraient sa honte, s'il n'etait certain que les 
nations, comme les families, ne peuvent etre rcsponsables devaut la veritable 



428 THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

civilisation de ringTatitude et des vices personnels d'une minorite d'hommea qui, 
dans tons les pays et dans tous les temps, ont pretendu ternir I'eclat des societes 
les plus eclairees. 

En consideration de ce qui precede, le citojen prt^sident a bien voulu decider 
que je vous recommande, comme j'ai Thonneur de le faire, de veiller, aujourd'hui 
plus que jamais, par tous les moyens que vous suggdrera votre prudence, votre 
circonspection et votre patriotisme, a ce que les garanties concedees aux etrangers 
par les traites et par le droit des gens deviennent efficaces, en ^cartant ainsi tout 
motif ou tout pretexte qui put les engager a ne pas conserver la stricte neutrality 
a laquelle ils sont obliges dans les questions pendantes avec le gouvernement 
respectif. II appartient a votre jugement et a votre tact bien connus de diriger 
vers un but profitable I'exaltation du patriotisme, et d'empecber que les excita- 
tions populaires dans les conflits de la nation ne debordent centre les etrangers 
laborieux et pacifiques, auxquels on doit entiere protection, de m^me qu'on doit 
appliquer strictement la loi aux turbulents et aux seditieux. 

II est superflu de vous demontrer combien la situation actuelle serait aggrav^ 
par des desordres qui, dans les circonstances du moment, viendraient justifier 
dans une certaine mesure les inculpations que Ton fait au Mexique, et combien, 
au contraire, contribuerait au bon succes de sa defense Tattitude digne d'un 
peuple qui soutient, dans son ind^pendance, et son decorum, son amour pour 
I'bumanitd et la civilisation. 

En accomplissaut I'ordre du citoyen president, il m'est agrdable de vous reit- 
drer, &c. 

Dieu, liberie et reforme. 

JUAN DE D. AKIAS. 

Au Citoyen Gouverneur de VEtat de . 



Enclosure 4 in No. 121. 
Sir C. Wyke to M. de Roodenheeck. 

Mexico, December 13, 1861. 

Sir and Dear Colleague : On quitting Mexico I leave Mr. Glennie, our 
consul here, in cbarge of tbe arcbives of tbe legation, as weU also as of tbe in- 
interests of those British residents in the republic whose affairs, either public or 
private, will not peimit them to leave the country at the present time. 

For the moment such protection will prove sufficient ; bul in the event of 
hostilities hereafter occurring between her Majesty's forces and those of this 
republic, it will become necessary that Englishmen and their property here 
should be placed under the protection of a neutral flag. 

With this object in ^dew, and taking into consideration the intimate and 
friendly relations existing between our respective governments, I know nobody 
more fitting to take charge of British interests than yourself, provided you would 
not object to do so under the circumstances I have named ; in which case, with 
fuU confidence in your tact and judgment, I should feel certain that my country- 
men would receive every protection and assistance which you may have it in 
your power to afford dm-ing the absence from this capital of a British legation. 
I have, &c., 

C. LENNOX WTKE 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 429 

Enclosure 5 in No. 121. 

M. de Roodenbeeck to Sir C. WyJce. 

Legation de Belgique, 

Mexico, le 14 Deoembre, 1861. 

Monsieur et Cher Collogue : J'ai reQU la ddp^clie en date d'hier par 
laquelle vous m'avez fait I'honneur de m'informer, que lors de votre depart de 
Mexico vous confierez les archives de la legation de sa Majeste Britannique et 
les interdts de vos nationaux a M. Glennie, votre consul dans cette residence ; 
mais que si des actes d'hostilite devaient avoir lieu entre les forces de la Grande 
Bretagne et celles du Mexique vous desirez que les nationaux Anglais et leurs 
proprietes soient places sous la protection du pavilion et de la legation Beiges. 

Je m'empresse de vous manifester, Monsieur et clier collegue, que je serai 
heureux de faire tout ce qui sera en mon pouvoir pour que durant I'eloignement 
de la legation de sa Majeste Britannique, vos compatriotes et leurs propretes 
soient parfaitement respectes. N'importe dans quelle eventuality, ils trouveront 
aiipres le la legation du Roi mon auguste souverain la naeme protection et la 
m^me assistance que mes propres nationaux. 
Je saisis, &c., 

T'KINT DE ROODENBEECK. 



No. 122. 
Sir C WyJce to Earl Russell. 

[Extract.] 



Vera Oruz, December 29, 1862, 

I arrived here on the evening of the 24th from Mexico, intending to leave this 
place in her Majesty's ship " Ariadne " for Jamaica immediately after the aiTival 
of the English mail, which I fully expected would have brought your lordship'a 
replies to my official correspondence of the 29th of October last. The steamer 
" Clyde " an-ived at this port the day before yesterday, without, however, having 
brought any despatches for me, so that I conclude they have been sent to 
Jamaica under the admiral's address. Yesterday morning Captain Von Donop, 
of her Majesty's ship "Jason," called to show me a letter from Commodore 
Dunlop, dated the 23d instant, from the Havana, by which I learnt that it was 
not the admiral's intention to proceed to Jamaica as announced, but that he was 
expected with the squadron at the Havana on the 26th instant en route for Vera 
Cruz. 

Under these cu-cumstances, had I proceeded even at once to that place in the 
"Ariadne," I should probably have crossed without meeting him on the way. 

This consideration induced me to remain where I was ; and by way of avoid- 
ing any further uncertainty, I immediately despatched Mr. AValsham in the 
"Ariadne " ^vith a letter for the admiral, begging his excellency at once to for- 
ward to me my despatches in case the present critical state of our relations with 
the United States should prevent his coming on here, as Captain Von Donop 
thought it not at all improbable that he would now return to the nortli. 

As this place has been in possession of the Spaniards since the 17th instant, 
there could be no impropriety in my remaining here, as I am no longer residing 
in a town mider the authority of the Mexican government. 



430 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

The Englisli and French squadrons are expected here three or four days 
hence, hut they may he detained for a week or ten days more in consequence of 
the heavy northerly gales which so frequently hlow on this coast at the present 
season. 

Until the admiral's arrival, or Mr. Walsham's return, I of course remain igno- 
rant of the nature of your lordship's instructions, as well also of the stipulations 
of the convention which I hear has been signed hy the plenipotentiaries of 
England, France, and Spain. 



No. 123. 

Sir C. Wylce to Earl Russell. 
[Extract.] 



Vera Cruz, Decemher 29, 1861. 

On my arrival here, a few days ago, I found that Vera Cruz had formally 
been taken possession of, on the 17th instant, by a Spanish force^ under the 
command of General Gasset, composed of 6,500 men and 300 horses. They 
were brought here from the Havana in twenty-six transports and vessels-of-war, 
commanded by Admiral Rubalcava, who having summoned the place to surren- 
der, both castle and town were delivered up to him without resistance. All the 
Mexican authorities, with many of the inhabitants, retired into the interior, and 
nothing has since occurred to disturb the peaceable occupation of the town, 
which the Spaniards hold in the name of the allies as well as their own, until 
the arrival of the English and French admirals. 

They have formed an administration for the service of the custom-house, post 
office, town council, &c. All duties levied are to be divided hereafter, according 
to the claims of each nation on the government of the republic. 

On arriving here, the governor of the town immediately sent me a guard of 
honor, which I dispensed with, and both himself and the general-in-chief offered 
their sei-vices to me in the kindest manner. The day following I called on them, 
and they, as well as the admiral, then assured me that everything they had done 
was considered by them as a mere temporary measure employed until the arrival 
of the allies. 

Their troops are a very fine body of men, and are kept under strict discipline, 
so that no complaints have been made against them by the inhabitants of the 
town. 

The Mexicans are fortifying some very strong mountain passes, where they 
mean to resist the march of the allies on the capital ; but as long as the Span- 
iards keep within their lines here they do not intend to molest them, except by 
cutting off, as far as they can, all supplies of provisions from entering the town. 
As fresh meat was becoming scarce here a few days ago, General Gasset was 
about seizing on three of the neighboring villages to obtain cattle, but I strongly 
advised him not to take such a step before the arrival of the French and English 
forces, as by so doing he would only bring on a collision with the Mexican forces 
outside the town, which it was most advisable to avoid, owing to the bitter feel- 
ing still existing in this country against the Spaniards. The general most 
readily yielded to my wishes, and although the troops were already out and 
under arms, he consented to change his projected expedition into a mere military 
promenade, to be made round the outer works of the town. 

I at the same time wrote to General Uraga, commanding the Mexican forces 
outside, strongly advising him to allow provisions to enter the town for the sake 



THE PEESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 431 

of his own countrymen shut up in it, and also to avoid any hostile movement 
trntil the anival of the allied squadrons in this harhor. This suggestion was 
also well received, as the general replied that he would do all in his power to 
carry out my wishes. 

I am most anxious to give time for the formation of a respectable government, 
who will understand that it is for their interest to receive the intervention in a 
fiiendly and not a hostile spirit, so as to aid them to re-establish order, and take 
the opinion of those who alone are entitled to have a voice in the matter. 
Hitherto the men of property and intelligence have been completely silenced 
and domineered over by the rabble, who elected from their own class the mem- 
bers of a congress which, besides being a disgrace to the country, rendered 
anything like good government impossible. 

The nation are now thoroughly frightened at the formidable coalition formed 
against them, and will be more disposed to grant what we want before blood has 
been shed and their passion excited, than they will be when once engaged in a 
struggle with the Spaniards. 

The rejection of my convention by the congress, as described in my last 
month's correspondence, had the effect of breaking up the late cabinet, and the 
crisis which then ensued brought General Doblado forward, who would only 
consent to form a government on the condition of having full powers conferred 
on him by congress, authorizing him to settle pending questions with the three 
powers as he deemed best. Having obtained these he adjourned the assembly 
imtil April next, and now remains unfettered to make the best arrangement he 
can with us. 

He is a man of such talent and influence in the country that the reactionary 
chiefs began to lay down their arms and give in their adhesion on his appoint- 
ment becoming known, and he is now engaged in forming his cabinet from the 
best men he could find, irrespective of their political opinions. 

His first act was to entreat me not to leave Mexico, as he was, he said, now 
able to conclude an ai-rangement with me that would give England positive guar- 
antees for the due fulfilment of their engagements towards us. As this overture 
was made to me after the arrival of last month's mail bringing English news- 
papers in which it was positively stated that a convention was about being signed, 
binding the three powers to a joint intervention in Mexico, I could not, of course, 
take advantage of an offer which, under other circumstances, I should have gladly 
availed myself of. 

Everything depends on the manner in which matters are managed here at 
first. If the intervention is properly received it will prove a blessing to the 
country ; but, on the other hand, violent measures at first will spoil all, and en- 
gage us in an vuidertaking the difiiculties of which can hardly be overrated. 

Fortunately, the Spanish commander, both military and naval, appear to be 
men of great prudence and discretion, and up to the present moment they have 
shown a spirit of justice and conciliation which speaks highly in their favor. 

In a long conversation I had with Admiral Rubalcava the day before yester- 
day, he expressed his opinion on this subject in terms nearly identical to those 
I have now used in giving my own. 

I have the honor to enclose an extract from the " Trait d'Union," in which 
your lordship will find the summons of the Spanish admiral demanding the sur- 
render of the town, as well as the president's address to the nation on the pres- 
ent state of affairs. 



432 THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 

Enclosure ia No. 123. 

Extract from the "Trait d' Union" of December 19, 1861. 

LA. SOMMATION DU CHEF DE L'ESOADRE ESPAGNOL. 

OOMMANDANCE GeNeRALE DE FoRCES Na VALES DE 

Sa Majeste Catholique dans les Antilles. 

M. LE GrOUVERNEUR: La longue serie d'outrages infliges au gouvemement de 
sa Majesty Catholique par celui de la repiiblique Mexicaine, les violences reite- 
rees, coimnises centre des sujets Espagnols et robstination aveugle avec laquelle 
le gouvernement du Mexique s'est refuse constamment a dcouter les justes recla- 
mations de I'Espagne, toujours presentees avec la moderation et le decorum 
propres a une nation aussi noble ("liidalgo,") ont mis mon gouvernement dans 
le cas de rejeter tout espoir d'obtenir, par la voie de la conciliation, un reglement 
satisfaisant des graves differends existant entre les deux pays. Le gouvernement 
de sa Majeste Catholique, resolu, cependant, a obtenir repai'ation complete 
(" cumplida ") pour taut d'outrages, m'a ordonne de commencer mes operations 
en occupant la place de Vera Cruz et la chateau de San Juan de Ulua, qui 
seront conserves, comme gage ("prenda pretoria") jusqu'ii, ce que le gouverne- 
ment de sa Majestd s'assure que, dans I'avenir, la nation Espagnole sera traitee 
avec la consideration qui lui est due, et que les pactes qui seront celebres entre 
les deux gouvernements seront religieusement observes. 

Vous me communiquerez, par I'intermediaire de M. le Consul Fran9ais, charge 
de representer les interets commerciaux de I'Espagne, dans le delai le vingt- 
quatre heures, comptees du moment ou vous recevrez la presente sommation, si 
vous dtes ou non dispose a me livrer la place et le chateau ; dans I'intelligence 
que si la response est negative, ou si je n'ai regu aucune reponse a I'expiration 
du delai, vous pouvez des ce moment considerer les hostilites commencees, et 
I'armee Espagnole debarquera dans ce but. 

Je ne dois pas vous cacher que s'il est vrai que je fais la presente sommation 
seulement au nom de I'Espagne, suivant les instructions que j'ai re9ues, I'occu- 
pation de la place et du chateau servira egalement de garantie pour les droits et 
les reclamations qu'auront a faire valoir centre le gouvernement Mexicain, les 
gouvernements de la France et de la Grande Bretagne. 

II me reste a vous faire observer que la mission de forces Espagnoles ne se 
rattache en rien a la politique interieure du pays (" en nada se roza con la po- 
litica interior del pais") : toutes les opinions seront respectees ; on ne commettra 
aucun acte censurable, et du moment ou nos troupes occuperont Vera Cruz, les 
chefs Espagnols repondront de la securitt^ des personnes et des interets de ses 
habitants, quelle que soit leur nationalite. II vous appartieut ainsi qu'aux autres 
autoritees de donner des garanties aux etrangers jusqu'a ce que la dite occupa- 
tion se realise, soit pacifiquement, soit de vive force. Si les sujets Espagnols et 
les autres etrangers etaient persecutes et maltraites, les forces qui composent 
cette expedition se verraient dans la dure mais imperieuse necessit(§ de recourir 
aux represailles. ' " 

J'entretiens i'espoir que, quelle que soit votre rdsolution, vous agirez avec 
la prudence qu'on doit attendre, et vous penetrant que les forces Espagnoles, 
toujours humaines, toujours nobles et loyales, meme avec leurs ennemis, ne 
feront pas le premier pas dans la voie des violences reprouvdes m^me en cas de 
guerre, vous eviterez toute sorte de crimes dont le seul resiiltat serait de rendre 
plus difficile, sinon impossible, le reglement des questions internatiouales pen- 
dantes. 

Je profite, &c. 

Vapeur "Isabel la Catoiica," et mouillage d' Anton Lizardo, le 14 D^cembre, 
1861. 

JOAQUIN GUTIERREZ DE RUBALCAVA. 

M. le GouvERNEUR de VEtat de Vera Cruz, ^c. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 433 

Le Gouvernement Suprhnc a M. le Gouverneur de VEtat de Vera Cruz. 

MiNISTERE DES RELATIONS EXTERIEURES ET DE GoBERNACION. 

Le citoyen president, a qui j'ai rendu compte de la communication officielle 
que vous a adressee le commandant des forces navales Espagnoles, et de celle 
que vous avez envoyee a ce clief reponse, m'ordonne de vous dire de suivre 
ponctuellement les instructions qui vous ont ete donnees par anticipation, pour 
le cas, aujourd'hui realise, de la rupture ouverte des hostilities de la part des 
sujets de I'Espagne, et de kisser, en matiere militaire. Taction libre au citoyen 
General Uraga, qui commande-en-clief I'armee Mexicaine, afin qu'il agisse egale- 
ment, dans sa sphere, conformement aux instructions detaillees qui lui ont ete 
donnees. 

II serait pen convenable pour le gouvernement de la republique de s'adresser 
a un chef qui, passant par dessus les formes du droit des gens, commence par 
intimer la reddition d'une place. Le cri do guerre que la nation a lance spon- 
tanement, marque au gouvernement le chemin qu'il doit suivre, et ce ne sera pas 
le citoyen president de la republique qui reculera devant une invasion etrangere, 
avec d'autant plus de raison que, dans la circonstance, le Mexique ne fait que 
repousser la force par la force, en vertu de son droit naturel incontestable. 

Je vous adresse egalement, par disposition supreme, un exemplaire du decret 
et de la circulaire qui sont envoyes aujourd'hui, par extraordinaire, aux citoyens 
gouverneurs des etats, en vous recommandant de seconder, avec I'energie et 
I'activite que commandent les circonstances, la pensee du gouvernement ; _ le 
citoyen president ne doute pas qu'a I'aide de cette fidele execution, I'mvasion 
qui menace de detruire notre liberte et natre independance sera repoussee. 

Liberte et reforme ! 

Mexico, le 17 Decembre, 1861. 

MANUEL DOBLADO. 

Au Citoyen Gouverneur de l'Etat de Vera Cruz. 



Circulaire aux Gouverneurs d^ Etats. 

MiNISTERE DES RELATIONS ExTeRIEURBS ET DE GoBERNACION. 

Par ordrc du citoyen president, j 'ai I'honneur de vous remettre copie des 
communications officielles dchangties entre le commandant des forces Espagnoles 
a Vera Cruz et le citoyen gouverneur de cet etat, ainsi que du decret et manifeste 
que le magistrat supreme de la republique a cru devoir publier aujourd'hui, pour 
que les etats so pn^parent a la defense de I'independance. 

Apres avoir epuise les moycns d'un arrangement pacifiquc entre I'Espagne ct 
le Mexique, le gouvernement de la republique, fort de la conscience de sa justice 
et ressentant rimpixlsiou de I'opinion populaire prononcee pour la guerre, accepte 
celle qu'ont commencee les forces Espagnoles d'une maniere si inusitee, parccque 
son droit de repousser la force par la force est incontestable, (ft il protcste, devant 
le monde civilis(^, que la responsabilite des evenements posterieurs rctombcra 
toute enticre ct uniquemcnt sur le gouvernement de la Reiue d'Espagnc qui a 
fait sienncs, d'une maniere si inconsideree, les injustes accusations sur Icsquelles 
ont cntcndu sp<!culcr les ennemis de la libert(; du Mexique. 

Malgni nos dissensions intestines, le sentiment pour I'independance et la liainc 
contre les ancitms dominat(!urs du pays se maintiennent vivants, bicn que la 
secondc soit attcnuee par I'effet des lumii'res ct de la civilisation du siecle. 

Le citoyen president, en arborant le drapeau de la nationalitn Mexicaine, ne 
fait que suivre le torrent de I'opinion generalc, et a la plaisir de voir groupes 
H. Ex. Doc. 100 28 



4^^ 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MEXICO. 



autoiir cle lui, an joiir du conflit national, la pliipart des Mexicains qui restaient 
desunis pour cause d'opinions politiques, mais qui ont abandonne les partis in- 
testins au premier appel de la pafcrie. 

Bien qite le gouveruemeut ait tovit droit d'expulser du territoire de la rdpub- 
lique les Espagnols qui y resident, il n'a pas voulu le faire quant a present, car 
il a confiance en ce que ces derniers, repondant a la generosite avec laquelle on 
les traite, oLserveront la stricte neutrality que leur position leur conseille. Le 
citoyen president a donne ainsi un noveau temoignage de la prudence avec 
laquelle il s'cst conduit dans ses relations exteriexn-es, en prouvant, par des faits 
irrefutables, qu'il n'a pas la faute si ces relations en sout venues au malbeureux 
etat dans lequel elles se trouvent actuellement. 

Le citoyen president espere done qu'en donnaiit une prompte et stricte execu- 
tion au decret dont j'ai parle des le debut, vous mettrez en marche, aussitot que 
possible, le contingent de force armee qui vous est siguale, et que vous userez en 
outre de toutes les ressources que vous permet votre gouvernement pour niettre 
I'etat de votre digne commandement dans I'attitude imposante qui lui correspond; 
en excitant par tons les habitants du meme etat, afin qu'ils contribuent a la de- 
fense commune, et pour que, dans le cas malbeureux ou Teunemi penetrerait 
dans I'interieur, tons les habitants du pays se levent en masse et opposent, avec 
leur epde et leur Constance, une muraille invincible a I'audace de nos envahisseiTrs. 

Que la memoire d'Hidalgo, de Morelos et de Guerrero soit un exemple pour les 
Mexicains, et que la banuiere qui flottera dans les rangs de notre armee, a I'heure 
du combat, ait pour inscription: "Vive I'lnd^pendance ! Vive la Republique ! " 

Liberte et reforme. 

Mexico, le 17 Decemhre, 1861. 

MANUEL DOBLADO. 

Au Citoyen Gouvernbur de l'Etat de . 












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